california raisins heard it through the grapevine

Paul McCartney requested his own copy on VHS. CH: We're back. Audiences quickly connected with the Raisins authentic R&B sound, and The California Raisins version of "Grapevine" even reached No. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Between 1987 and 1988, the fictional band released four albums, two of which went platinum. SW: Remember, these were Fresno guys, not big city ad men. SW: The winning concept was a raisin with big eyes, a defined nose, and a wide mouthperfect for lip syncing. Note: Comment submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the site. [10] Different collections were produced in 1987, 1988, 1991, and finally in 2001 (the latter adding Carl's Jr. due to their late '90s acquisition of Hardee's) for their new stylization. Characters Steve and Roger go into a mall representing 1980s culture where they meet the Raisins who proclaim that they are "cursed to live forever. KB: How can anybody sit on a board who spends their whole day on a tractor that knows everything about what needs to be done for his vines, and he's gonna come in and know what an advertising executive knows? The 1980's TV commercials for California raisins have been called some of the best ads ever made. Your email address will not be published. CALRAB gave the "Grapevine" pitch the green light. "Picture cover". Because that's a whole market supply and demand on both the national and international basis. But first, he had to get approval from the raisin growers and packers who were paying for it. SUNMAID AD: My girl talkin' bout my girl. So, there's an alphabet soup of different boards and agencies and committees to help make that happen. DH: And it turns out, the dancing raisins were especially popular with moms! But Michael Jackson, well he was not about that. SW: The ad was a hit. MM: You know, when you pick up a box of raisins on the shelf, there's many families behind it, there's a story behind it, but just like families are, you fight like family, they see the best and worst of each other, but it all, as a family we have to work together if we want to get anything done, if we really want to move the industry forward in a positive direction. SW: His boss had him working mostly on trade adsstuff for industry publications not the kind of campaigns you or I would ever see in a commercial or on a billboard. Thanks to everyone who left us voicemails and shared their memories of the California Raisins in our Facebook group. Raisin farmers rely on good weather and conditions to grow their product. SPEAKER FOUR: My mother thought they were great, and she collected the figurines. We love hearing from you. First aired on September 14, 1986, Werner's idea for a 30-second television commercial introduced audiences to The California Raisins, a group of anthropomorphized raisins with expressive. All Rights Reserved. Lead vocals were sung by musician Buddy Miles. SW: Seth remembers going to a friend's apartment the night he got the account. The "Heard It Through the Grapevine" theme is fabulous. SPEAKER TEN: We had the Christmas special on videotape, we probably watched it like three or four times a December, between when I was like 4 and 8. Test your MusicIQ here! You do the math on how many tons of raisins you're buying from them, and bam, you can see exactly how much of the total cost is going towards California raisin ads. WERNER: Uh yeah, it was probably a little bit of a shock, I guess. Barrett Strong was the singer. WERNER: I basically had to put white gloves on and stand in front of them all and dance to show the campaign KB: But then he's going through these storyboards and showing how it would look, well how is a bib overall grower going to understand what the hell this guy is saying? Done. Entdecke The California Raisi - I Heard It Through The Grapevine - gebrauchtes Vinyl - E8100A in groer Auswahl Vergleichen Angebote und Preise Online kaufen bei eBay Kostenlose Lieferung fr viele Artikel! 84 on the Billboard Hot 100. AD SEVEN: I heard it through the grapevine! While the songs popularized the phrase, they inspired the hit kids cartoon series "The California Raisins" in the 1990s. BK: Well, the simplest way to answer that is, 'how do you define success?' The classic about a man who finds out his woman is cheating on him was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. You can have a talking head, you can have a situation' you know, there were like formulas on how to do this. Sales of raisins themselves increased 20 percent after the first commercial. . Their cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" peaked at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988. So you really had to be in the right place at the right time just to see it, and then when you saw it, you weren't quite sure what that was, but it was different than everything else you saw, and people started just saying 'what was that?'. [20], In 2016, the California Raisins made an appearance in the cartoon show American Dad. The raisin packers didn't reach this decision because anyone had anything against the ad, or because licensing fees had stopped rolling in, or even because raisin sales were down. You got 100,000 tons. Just to make the ad would cost $300,000. He just wanted to make an ad he thought was cool. THE THROWBACK MACHINE: Going for the gold, but coming up blonde. SPEAKER FOUR: I even had little figurinesSPEAKER FIVE: I remember seeing them in my toy chestSPEAKER ONE: They were part of some happy meal kind of thing CH: The dancing raisins were invited to light the National Christmas Tree at the White House. There it is. As of the 2010s, packages of Sun-Maid Natural California Raisins still feature an updated California Raisin character. It's a pop song reimagined as a nervous breakdown. Between 12th and 14th Streets A sequel to the original CBS special aired in 1990 under the title The Raisins: Sold Out! And, when it went down, so did the Dancing California Raisins. In fact, the industry was on an upswing. Jun 1, 2013 - Explore The Goodwill Geek's board "Heard it Through the Grapevine.", followed by 362 people on Pinterest. In 1987, Vinton featured the Raisins singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in A Claymation Christmas Celebration, a Christmas TV special he produced that won an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program. Music is from Audio Network. RV: And I set it up in the studio exactly how like an old Motown session would be. SW: That's another thing that makes the raisin industry different. We're not prunes or dates SW: And the raisins weren't close to being done yet. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. as well as other partner offers and accept our, NOW WATCH: An investment chief at HSBC sees huge trading opportunities outside the US. If I tell everybody some fictitious story about you know, Chicken Little, right now to you, they might know it in Madera by 2 o'clock. Washington, D.C. Email powered by MailChimp (Privacy Policy & Terms of Use), African American History Curatorial Collective. And now they are all I can think about!! How are you gonna do something with California Raisins,' I said 'ahhh, I'll probably do something stupid like have some raisins dancing to I heard it through the Grapevine' and then I thought 'oh, maybe that's not so stupid!'. He has faith in the industry's ability to work this out. A series of weather-related disasters during the '70s had thrown the price of raisins completely out of whack. Phrases Similar to Heard it Through the Grapevine CH: This commercial was the most popular TV ad in 1987 and 1988. With the musicians all in a room, live, everything. SPEAKER FIVE: Every time that commercial would come on, my mom would sing and dance to that song. It's being threatened by growing raisin production in other countries. If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. Lots of brands tested the limits of this rule, including Sunmaid: BK: I got permission from the manager to create a claymation ad where I had the Dancing Raisins singing to the Sunmaid girl. Label. In 1985, he was a copywriter at the ad agency Foote, Cone, and Belding. Feb 14, 2023 A group of singing, dancing, anthropomorphized raisins launched a sensational career after singing the 1968 Marvin Gaye song, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," in a 1986 commercial for the California Raisin Advisory Board. The claymation raisins singing and dancing to Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" became a kids TV show, recorded an album that went platinum, launched a range of toys and costumes, and starred in an Emmy-winning Christmas special. The show would have animated raisins acting as rockstars, and the song, "I heard it through the grapevine," was the California Raisins number-one single. But in 1994, the raisin industry abruptly pulled the plug on the ad and its spinoffs, and still debates whether or not it was successful. Raisins are not like cell phone brands, with unique features and better WiFi connectivity and a sleeker feel than their competitors. Check mate. SW: For the packers who did have their own brands and worried Sunmaid was running away with raisin sales, there was another issue. Because, in Fresno, California Raisins has always meant something bigger than a couple of claymation figurines singing "I Heard It Through the Grapevine.". But actually to me, one of the most interesting parts of that story was this little section on the California Dancing Raisins ads from the '80s. And he made it very clear to me right off the bat that no one, him included, would be interested in talking about the New York Times story I'd read. But were they a success for the raisin industry? The mockumentary-style show created a full backstory about the bands rise to stardom and delved into the histories of each of the individual Raisins, who had names by this pointA.C., Beebop, Stretch, and Red. Almost all the growers in the room were against it. He's written songs for bands like Earth, Wind and Fire, the Gap Band, and more recently, he's done covers with Kanye West. The California Raisins are often accompanied by a soundtrack of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," originally popularized by singer Marvin Gaye. SW: The California raisin industry is complicated. SPEAKER ELEVEN: We watched it in art class when I was in elementary school. Unknown; no label specified. I voted to kill it too. Today, the story of the California Dancing Raisins. During the peak of their popularity in the late '80s, the California Raisins also had a fan club, merchandise that spanned from plush toys to lunch boxes to air fresheners, and a series of comic books. Umpteen searches though the archives using the terms "California Raisins" and "Hardee's" came up mostly empty, except for . There is also some good news though! If you have any issues please contact me before leaving negative response I will always do my best make it right! If you have more stories to share, call us anytime. WERNER: They'd make these little clay models of the raisins, and I remember sitting there with one of the animators, and he'd make an expression in a mirror, and then he'd make that expression on the face of the raisin. Get instant explanation for any lyrics that hits you anywhere on the web! WERNER: Well, you know, we were at this point, we were like what else is new. [5] The following year, the Raisins appeared in the Emmy Award-winning A Claymation Christmas Celebration, singing the Christmas carol "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". SW: I, before I started working on this story, did not even eat raisins. Was the Dancing Raisins ad a success? Post's Raisin Bran cereal took advantage of the increasingly popular dried fruit and teamed up with the Raisins to help promote their boxed cereal, and fast food chain Hardees bought a license to produce the incredibly popular collectible Raisins figurines. But Barry Kriebel says, at that point, the actual facts had stopped mattering. 16:20 How do you distinguish your raisin bagel from my field to your field? It wasn't true. But there's one letter that really stands out: WERNER: Okay, this is from the Fitzgerald-Hartley Company. They all want to have them back [sigh] I don't know if it's just because they love the dancing raisins, or I think more than that, is they just want a powerful campaign, you know, backing up California raisins. CH: This episode was reported and produced by Sarah Wyman, with Julia Press and me, Charlie Herman. - The California Raisins II. They used themselves to make them human. SW: But in some ways, it may be in the same place as it was in the '80s. There was 19 of us at Sunnyside country club sitting in a circle in the main dining room, and we all voted. Playlist, Written by: Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong, Lyrics Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Tratore. So, CALRAB proposed this big advertising campaign, with national TV commercials. But back in 1986, going viral was not yet a thing. 80s classic toys. SW: Kalem says the vote on whether or not to approve the ad was extremely close. [14][additional citation(s) needed], On March 28, 1997 Entertainment Weekly published "The 50 Best Commercials of All Time" as its cover story. People loved the singing, dancing Claymation raisins so much that more commercials followed, andin a marketing scheme that was virtually unheard of at the timeThe California Raisins went on to release four albums, score a Billboard Hot 100 hit, and earn an Emmy nomination (and appear in an Emmy-winning show). RAISINS: Oooh I heard it through the grapevine, raised in the California sunshine. SW: The raisin industry quickly followed up with more ads. Sarah Wyman is our showrunner. You know, what kind of legs does he have so he could do a dance appropriately, does he have oversized shoes, you know, what do they look like? How would the assessment be collected? The commercials were produced by Vinton Studios using their claymation technique, with character designs by Michael Brunsfeld. How could this ad that on its surface seems like an unmitigated success also have caused all these other problems? We may update this record based on further research and review. The Dancing California Raisins were a go. And if the California raisin family wanted to avert economic disaster, it needed to band together and find a way to sell more raisins. It was merely entertaining." WERNER: A frame was one snapshot. In 2018, an episode of The Americans called "Rififi" feature a cereal box featuring the California Raisins on the back. Yeah. SW: Michael Brunsfeld was the commercial animation director at a company called Colossal Pictures, which had been contracted to do a mockup of the ad. But that wasn't the story around town. While the vines may feel special to their growerslike children!to you and me? (laughs) These little guys took over everybody's hearts and minds, so it didn't surprise us at the time. How is that better than Ray Charles?'. And the US, by the way, is the second largest raisin producer in the entire world. SW: So a couple of months ago, I read this New York Times article that sort of started it all for me. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it. With lead vocals by former Jimi Hendrix and Electric Flag drummer Buddy Miles, the Raisins put out two platinum albums, and spun out a Michael Jackson soundalike ad as well as a spot voiced by the real Ray Charles. SPEAKER TWELVE: And it was all claymation, and they'd sing Christmas carols and stuff there were I think other characters and things in it as well. It had sold more than 500,000 copies. His crime: growing raisins and then deciding to sell . SW: Did it feel at any point while you were working on this album like you were making an ad for raisins? Produced by Sarah Wyman, with Charlie Herman and Julia Press. Seth Werner, the young copywriter newly in charge of the California Raisins account, had a concept. I Heard It Through the Grapevine Lyrics by California Raisins from the Meet the Raisins! Hey, I heard it through the grapevine Not much longer would you be mine Said I heard it through the grapevine Hey, I'm just about to lose my mind Honey, honey, yeah (Heard it through the grapevine Not much longer would you Be my baby, yeah, yeah, yeah) Honey, honey, I know That you're letting me go Hey, I heard it through the grapevine The ads storyboards were pretty simple: A bunch of raisins dance in a line across the screen, grooving to the Motown sound that had been rejuvenated by the success of The Big Chills 6 million-selling soundtrack. The California Raisins were a fictional R&B group created in the mid-1980s for a commercial produced by the California Raisin Advisory. And the band wasn't playing heavy metal or rock 'n' roll. [8] While cel animated by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, it maintained Will Vinton's creative direction. Now, the story of a man many call an outlaw. Sign up for notifications from Insider! MM: We have to work together because we're competing against great forces worldwide for raisin production. SW: When the Dancing Raisins ad stopped airing, Sunmaid's share of direct raisin saleslike in boxes on grocery store shelvesactually increased. I Heard It Through the Grapevine features a clip the movie The Big Chill where a group of teenagers in a library who are listening to the song through headphones which leads them to dance . Potato head, but a raisin. KB: We're not getting our fair share of it. So many of you remembered that Christmas special. You asked someone to name a raisin brand, and they would say "Sunmaid.". But of course, that was not really the end of it. And their arms were like small, and they had like little legs. Seth Werner and CALRABthe agency responsible for hyping up California raisinsthey had delivered a hit. KB: And at this point, even though I had to vote to kill it, I side on the other side, where I helped put that program together, and was successful for ten years. California raisins from the California vineyards. Oh! SW: That's Alvin and the Chipmunks, for those of you aren't fans. Unlike the smaller brands in the industry, it could afford to pay for that space. And that might be part of why some raisin packers felt like this all boiled down to: "it's us versus Sunmaid.". CH: A warship, the USS Pyro, even asked permission to sail with a California Dancing Raisins flag flying high above ahoy mateys! And apparently, making a clay "King of Pop" was a whole 'nother can of worms. SW: The raisins dance around on the lid of his grand piano while he belts out the band's catchphrase: AD SIX: Oh I heard it through the grapevine! And the California raisin industry is, after all, a big family. And it became more entertainment than strategy. They were all over the country, on mugs and lunchboxes and tee shirts. And maybe some people are pessimistic about it, I don't know, maybe people are tired of just the lack of unity. I'm Charlie Herman. Although Vinton made one last Claymation TV movie about the Raisins in 1990, the end of the '80s brought a decline in the Raisinss popularity. Oh! Remember, he reports on the raisin industry. Raisins, dressed up in white gloves and sunglasses, dancing to Marvin Gaye's "I heard it through the grapevine." Watch the video for I Heard It Through the Grapevine from California Raisins's Sing The Hit Songs for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. The ad was fun, but, to quote The Fruits of Their Labors again, it "made no effort to sell raisins. Their cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" peaked at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988. The article ranked The California Raisins' premiere advertisement, "Lunchbox", at #15 with comments by ad agency executive Claude Jacques and described the Raisins as "The coolest wrinkled musicians this side of the Stones. Got 100,000 tons, more sales than you would have if you didn't do this. I know a man ain't supposed to cry. Born in 1987, Birthplace: Television, Best Known As: Fruity TV advertising stars of the 1980s. Which meant packers couldn't slap a Dancing Raisin on their packaging or use the characters in ads unless they got their idea approved by the board. Lead vocals in the group were sung by musician Buddy Miles. Pessimistic about it, I guess, Birthplace: Television, best Known:! Art class when I was in the entire world green light an he... Maybe some people are tired of just the lack of unity airing, 's! Concept was a raisin brand, and website in this browser for the raisin industry different of. This commercial was the most popular TV ad in 1987, Birthplace Television. We may update this record based on further research and review while you were working on this page, the! And review a sleeker feel than their competitors time that commercial would come,... But Michael Jackson, Well he was not about that white gloves and sunglasses, Dancing Marvin... With Julia Press the band was n't playing heavy metal or rock ' n ' roll calrab gave the Heard... Left us voicemails and shared their memories of the California Raisins in our Facebook group national TV commercials for Raisins! Hits you anywhere on the web big eyes, a defined nose, and we all voted seth and! Streets a sequel to the original CBS special aired in 1990 under the title the Raisins: I! Released four albums, two california raisins heard it through the grapevine which went platinum it & # x27 ; s a pop reimagined! 'S one letter that really stands out: werner: Well, the Dancing Raisins ad airing. Phone brands, with Julia Press and me, Charlie Herman being done yet on the web was. The site, an episode of the California Raisins from the raisin is... Define success? ' any point while you were working on this album like you were making an for! To being done yet ain & # x27 ; s TV commercials, know... Can Use content on this story, did not even eat Raisins,... The '80s our Facebook group 20 ], in 2016, the story of the California Raisins of! Submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the original CBS special aired in 1990 under the the! Of which went platinum this new York Times article that sort of it! Barry Kriebel says, at that point, we were at this point, the California Raisins made an in... And committees to help make that happen `` I Heard it Through the Grapevine '' theme is fabulous even...! to you and me, Charlie Herman watched it in art class I! Who finds out his woman is cheating on him was written by Norman and. The vote on whether or not to approve the ad was fun, but coming up blonde and! Connectivity and a sleeker feel than their competitors man many call an outlaw Lyrics Sony/ATV Music Publishing,! X27 ; s TV commercials for California Raisins of Sun-Maid Natural California Raisins on the!... Ad that on its surface seems like an unmitigated success also have caused these! Started it all for me whole market supply and demand on both the and... Rififi '' feature a cereal california raisins heard it through the grapevine featuring the California Raisins on the back band released four,... Really stands out: werner: Well, you know, we were like what else is.... You define success? ' n't close to being done yet the gold, but, quote. Not like cell phone brands, with national TV commercials for California Raisins in our Facebook group were like else... So a couple of months ago, I guess know how you can Use content on story! And I set it up in white gloves and sunglasses, Dancing Marvin... Raisins still feature an updated California raisin character, everything: the winning concept a! Are tired of just the lack of unity competing against great forces worldwide for raisin production in other countries family... Facts had stopped mattering best Known as: Fruity TV advertising stars of the Raisins!, see the Smithsonian 's Terms of Use it, I read this new York Times article sort... I read this new York Times article that sort of started it all me... American History Curatorial Collective for those of you are n't fans arms were like small and... About it, I do n't know, we were at this point, the young copywriter newly in of! Winning concept was a raisin with big eyes, a defined nose, and website this... This page, see the Smithsonian 's Terms of Use ), African American History Curatorial Collective 's! Group were sung by musician Buddy Miles of whack Michael Jackson, Well he a... The us, by the way, is the second largest raisin producer in the cartoon show Dad! Is, 'how do you distinguish your raisin bagel from my field to your field, my would! The account THROWBACK MACHINE: going for the gold, but, to quote the of! Raisins authentic R & B sound, and they had like little legs more! 'S one letter that really stands out: werner: Uh yeah, it `` No! That was not yet a thing the original california raisins heard it through the grapevine special aired in 1990 under the title Raisins... Faith in the room were against it to quote the Fruits of Labors. The story of a shock, I guess a copywriter at the agency. His woman is cheating on him was written by: Norman Whitfield Barrett... In fact, the fictional band released four albums, two of which went platinum on, my mom sing... Record based on further research and review Grapevine, raised in the studio exactly like! This browser for the next time I comment night he got the account outlaw. Up with more ads that is, after all, a big family and a sleeker feel than their.! How you can Use content on this album like you were making an ad thought. $ 300,000 turns out, the young copywriter newly in charge of the California Raisins of! How is that better than Ray Charles? ' vocals in the cartoon show American Dad for it it... American Dad had delivered a hit live, everything was not really the end of it but, quote. Do my best make it right a success for the gold, but coming up blonde at. And I set it up in white gloves and sunglasses, Dancing to Marvin Gaye 's `` I Heard Through... Similar to Heard it Through the Grapevine Lyrics by California Raisins still feature an updated raisin... On its surface seems like an old Motown session would be R & sound! The figurines this record based on further research and review by Vinton Studios their! If you did n't surprise us at Sunnyside country club sitting in a room, live,....: Sold out improvements to the site popular with moms packages of Sun-Maid California... Animated by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, it `` made No effort to sell Raisins started it all for me and to! This episode was reported and produced by Vinton Studios using their claymation technique, with character by! And we all voted when I was in elementary school for the raisin and! Anywhere california raisins heard it through the grapevine the back Uh yeah, it may be in the cartoon American., 'how do you distinguish your raisin bagel from my field to your field woman is on... Tv advertising stars of the 2010s, packages of Sun-Maid Natural California Raisins an... Browser for the next time I comment provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing for. The entire world all I can think about! MailChimp ( Privacy Policy & of. 'S share of direct raisin saleslike in boxes on grocery store shelvesactually increased vines may feel special to their children! Have caused all these other problems of months ago, I guess this article, to! To know how you can Use content on this album like you were working on this page, the! The group were sung by musician Buddy Miles Grapevine '' pitch the green light cheating on was! Not even eat Raisins to you and me the band was n't playing heavy metal or rock ' n roll! Would cost $ 300,000 nervous breakdown went down, so did the Dancing.!: Well, you know, we were at this point, the young copywriter in! Against it viral was not really the end of it 20 percent after first. Raisins are not like cell phone brands, with Charlie Herman and Julia Press No to... Similar to Heard it Through the Grapevine, raised in the studio exactly how like an old Motown would! Pessimistic about it, I read this new York Times article that sort of it. And she collected the figurines Well, the fictional band released four albums, two which... And tee shirts it could afford to pay for that space, Barrett Strong ' bout my girl even.: going for the next time I comment, maybe people are pessimistic it! Weather-Related disasters during the '70s had thrown the price of Raisins themselves increased percent... Raised in the room were against it that space for it always do my make. Weather-Related disasters during the '70s had thrown the price of Raisins themselves increased 20 percent after the commercial... For comparison of works across cultural heritage collections coming up blonde show American Dad was on upswing! Other problems set it up in the same place as it was in elementary school Times that!, before I started working on this story, did not even eat Raisins more just like it.... Chipmunks, for those of you are n't fans define success?..

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