The California Raisins
Encyclopedia
The California Raisins were a fictional rhythm and blues
musical group as well as advertising
and merchandising characters composed of anthropomorphized
raisins based on black
caricature
s. Lead vocals were sung by musician Buddy Miles
. The California Raisins concept experienced high popularity in the mid-to-late 1980s principally through claymation TV commercials
and animated
specials
, winning an Emmy Award
and one nomination.
when one of the writers (Seth Werner, at the time with the advertising firm Foote, Cone & Belding, and now with big) came up with an idea for the new raisin commercial, saying, "We have tried everything but dancing raisins singing 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine
'" (the 1968 song popularized by Marvin Gaye
). To their surprise, the commercial became wildly popular, paving the way for several future commercials–one of which featuring Ray Charles
and another with a raisinized incarnation of Michael Jackson
–and opportunities through other media. The unique presentation was thanks to Vinton Studios
' famed claymation with character designs by Michael Brunsfeld. The following year, the Raisins appeared in the Emmy Award
-winning Claymation Christmas Celebration
, singing the classic Christmas carol
, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
."
The California Raisins thoroughly explored a musical avenue under Priority Records
. Four studio album
s were released through 1987 to 1988, and their signature song, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," landed on the Billboard Hot 100
. However, the Raisins would continue to make their strongest impression through animated endeavors.
On November 4, 1988, CBS
aired a primetime special entitled Meet the Raisins!
. The musical mockumentary
was again created by Vinton Studios and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award
. It also provided the band members more personality and individual names: A.C., Beebop (drums), Stretch (bass), and Red (guitar/piano). A Saturday morning cartoon series, The California Raisin Show
, debuted the following year but lasted merely 13 episodes. While cel animated by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, it maintained Will Vinton's creative direction. A sequel to the original CBS special aired in 1990 under the title Raisins: Sold Out!: The California Raisins II. This special saw the Raisins hiring a new manager with the goal of making a comeback.
. Merchandise sales included toys and Raisins images on nearly every conceivable medium: lunch box
es, notebooks, clothing, posters, bedsheets, and even a Halloween costume
just to name a few. A California Raisins Fan Club began in 1987 which included a Grapevine Gazette Newsletter and various memorabilia. Blackthorne Publishing
also released a 6-issue comic book
series entitled The California Raisins 3-D which included 3D glasses; these would later be re-released in the Ultimate Collection trade paperback.
Several California Raisins music albums were also released, featuring classic Motown and rock standards. These albums were included in the Smithsonian collection and were illustrated and art-directed by Helane Freeman, who later became famous for her work on Hannah Montana
and the Suite Life of Zack & Cody, among other Disney programs.
Perhaps the most memorable piece of California Raisins merchandise, however, came in the form of small, non-poseable California Raisins figures. The Hardee's
restaurant chain offered these as part of a promotion for their Cinnamon 'N' Raisin biscuits. Different collections were produced in 1987, 1988, 1991, and finally in 2001 (the latter adding Carls Jr. due to their late '90s acquisition of Hardee's) for their new stylization. This latest incarnation can still be seen on the California Raisin Marketing Board website.
In the early 1990s, Capcom
produced a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System
titled California Raisins: The Grape Escape
, in which the player controlled a California Raisin through five side-scrolling levels battling various evil fruit and vegetable characters that had stolen the Raisins' music. The game was completed and several video game critics reviewed it, but The Grape Escape was never released on the open market.
published "The 50 Best Commercials of All Time" as its cover story. 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
."
The vast amount of California Raisins merchandise has made for a substantial collectors' market. It even led to an unauthorized collectibles guide published in 1998, cataloging the many items based on the clay characters.
In 2002, the Food Network
program Unwrapped
featured a segment on the California Raisins featuring interviews with Will Vinton, David Altschul, and Mark Gustafson of Vinton Studios. Concept illustrations of the Raisins were also featured as interviewees discussed the characters' creation.
An article published by AnimateClay.com in the late 2000s details the whereabouts of the original claymation sculptures used by Vinton Studios. The figures were kept in a box for several years and headed for the trash before being obtained by Webster Colcord, a former employee of Vinton. Several photos were taken providing a close look at the Raisins' internal armatures and detailing their extremely poor condition, including the absence of the A.C. puppet's head.
As of the 2010s, packages of Sun-Maid
Natural California Raisins still modestly feature an updated California Raisin character. This figure is also included on CalRaisins.org.
In a 2011 interview, country music
artist Blake Shelton
reminisced on collecting Hardee's California Raisin figures in his youth.
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
musical group as well as advertising
Advertising character
An advertising character is a fictional character that appears within advertising and marketing materials for a given product or service.-See also:*Moe anthropomorphism*List of American advertising characters...
and merchandising characters composed of anthropomorphized
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
raisins based on black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
s. Lead vocals were sung by musician Buddy Miles
Buddy Miles
George Allen Miles, Jr. , known as Buddy Miles, was an American rock and funk drummer, most known as a founding member of The Electric Flag in 1967, then as a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys from 1969 through to January 1970.-Early life:George Allen Miles was born in Omaha, Nebraska on...
. The California Raisins concept experienced high popularity in the mid-to-late 1980s principally through claymation TV commercials
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
and animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
specials
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
, winning an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
and one nomination.
Origin and success
The concept was originally created for a 1986 commercial on behalf of the California Raisin Advisory BoardCalifornia Raisin Advisory Board
The California Raisin Advisory Board , Fresno, California, is most notable for the use of The California Raisins to market their namesake product, raisins.It was abolished in 1994. There is now a California Raisin Marketing Board....
when one of the writers (Seth Werner, at the time with the advertising firm Foote, Cone & Belding, and now with big) came up with an idea for the new raisin commercial, saying, "We have tried everything but dancing raisins singing 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine
I Heard It through the Grapevine
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is a landmark song in the history of Motown. Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1966, the single was first recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles...
'" (the 1968 song popularized by Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
). To their surprise, the commercial became wildly popular, paving the way for several future commercials–one of which featuring Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
and another with a raisinized incarnation of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
–and opportunities through other media. The unique presentation was thanks to Vinton Studios
Will Vinton
Will Vinton is an American director and producer of animated films. He was born in McMinnville, Oregon, near Portland. He has won an Oscar for his work, and several Emmy Awards and Clio Awards for the work of his studio.- Education :...
' famed claymation with character designs by Michael Brunsfeld. The following year, the Raisins appeared in the Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning Claymation Christmas Celebration
A Claymation Christmas Celebration
Will Vinton's A Claymation Christmas Celebration is an Emmy Award-winning Christmas television special originally broadcast on the American CBS TV network in 1987...
, singing the classic Christmas carol
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...
, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer with a glowing red nose. He is popularly known as "Santa's 9th Reindeer" and, when depicted, is the lead reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. The luminosity of his nose is so great that it illuminates the team's path through...
."
The California Raisins thoroughly explored a musical avenue under Priority Records
Priority Records
Priority Records is an American record label, owned and operated by EMI, which has made a name for itself dealing primarily in hip hop, pop and world...
. Four studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
s were released through 1987 to 1988, and their signature song, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," landed on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. However, the Raisins would continue to make their strongest impression through animated endeavors.
On November 4, 1988, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
aired a primetime special entitled Meet the Raisins!
Meet the Raisins!
Meet the Raisins! is a 1988 animated television special directed by Will Vinton, featuring the advertising characters The California Raisins. The show was broadcast November 4, 1988, on the U.S. television network CBS during primetime. It was the Raisins' second appearance in a primetime special...
. The musical mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
was again created by Vinton Studios and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series which is judged to have been the best...
. It also provided the band members more personality and individual names: A.C., Beebop (drums), Stretch (bass), and Red (guitar/piano). A Saturday morning cartoon series, The California Raisin Show
The California Raisin Show
The California Raisin Show is an animated television series based on the claymation advertising characters The California Raisins. The show is based on an Emmy Award-winning claymation special, Meet the Raisins!, which originally aired on CBS in 1988...
, debuted the following year but lasted merely 13 episodes. While cel animated by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, it maintained Will Vinton's creative direction. A sequel to the original CBS special aired in 1990 under the title Raisins: Sold Out!: The California Raisins II. This special saw the Raisins hiring a new manager with the goal of making a comeback.
Merchandise
The California Raisins TV commercial campaign marked the first time in history that merchandising products were developed from a commercial advertisement. Many of the items created for the campaign have become part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. Merchandise sales included toys and Raisins images on nearly every conceivable medium: lunch box
Lunch box
The lunch box, also referred to as a lunch pail or lunch kit, is used to store food to be taken to work or school. The concept of a food container has existed for a long time, but it wasn't until people began using tobacco tins to haul meals in the early 20th century, followed by the use of...
es, notebooks, clothing, posters, bedsheets, and even a Halloween costume
Halloween costume
Halloween costumes are costumes worn on or around Halloween, a festival which falls on October 31. The Halloween costume has a fairly short history. Wearing costumes has long been associated with other holidays around the time of Halloween, even Christmas...
just to name a few. A California Raisins Fan Club began in 1987 which included a Grapevine Gazette Newsletter and various memorabilia. Blackthorne Publishing
Blackthorne Publishing
Blackthorne Publishing, Inc. was a comic book publisher that flourished from 1986-1989. They were notable for the Blackthorne 3-D Series, their reprint titles of classic comic strips like Dick Tracy, and their licensed products...
also released a 6-issue comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series entitled The California Raisins 3-D which included 3D glasses; these would later be re-released in the Ultimate Collection trade paperback.
Several California Raisins music albums were also released, featuring classic Motown and rock standards. These albums were included in the Smithsonian collection and were illustrated and art-directed by Helane Freeman, who later became famous for her work on Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana is an American television series, which debuted on March 24, 2006 on the Disney Channel. The series focuses on a girl who lives a double life as an average teenage school girl named Miley Stewart by day and a famous pop singer named Hannah Montana by night, concealing her real...
and the Suite Life of Zack & Cody, among other Disney programs.
Perhaps the most memorable piece of California Raisins merchandise, however, came in the form of small, non-poseable California Raisins figures. The Hardee's
Hardee's
Hardee's is a restaurant chain, located mostly in the Southeast and Midwestern regions of the United States. It has evolved through several corporate ownerships since its establishment in 1960. It is currently owned and operated by CKE Restaurants. Along with its sibling restaurant chain, Carl's...
restaurant chain offered these as part of a promotion for their Cinnamon 'N' Raisin biscuits. Different collections were produced in 1987, 1988, 1991, and finally in 2001 (the latter adding Carls Jr. due to their late '90s acquisition of Hardee's) for their new stylization. This latest incarnation can still be seen on the California Raisin Marketing Board website.
In the early 1990s, Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
produced a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
titled California Raisins: The Grape Escape
California Raisins: The Grape Escape
The California Raisins: The Grape Escape is a California Raisins video game produced by Capcom in 1990 for the Nintendo Entertainment System that was not released for commercial distribution, and thus remains something of a collector's item.-Story:...
, in which the player controlled a California Raisin through five side-scrolling levels battling various evil fruit and vegetable characters that had stolen the Raisins' music. The game was completed and several video game critics reviewed it, but The Grape Escape was never released on the open market.
Post-popularity and legacy
On March 28, 1997 Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
published "The 50 Best Commercials of All Time" as its cover story. 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
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
."
The vast amount of California Raisins merchandise has made for a substantial collectors' market. It even led to an unauthorized collectibles guide published in 1998, cataloging the many items based on the clay characters.
In 2002, the Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
program Unwrapped
Unwrapped
Unwrapped is an American television program on Food Network that reveals the origins of foods. It first aired in June 2001 and is hosted by Marc Summers. The show leads viewers on tours of factories and other food-related locations. Popular subjects include candy, breakfast cereal, snacks, and TV...
featured a segment on the California Raisins featuring interviews with Will Vinton, David Altschul, and Mark Gustafson of Vinton Studios. Concept illustrations of the Raisins were also featured as interviewees discussed the characters' creation.
An article published by AnimateClay.com in the late 2000s details the whereabouts of the original claymation sculptures used by Vinton Studios. The figures were kept in a box for several years and headed for the trash before being obtained by Webster Colcord, a former employee of Vinton. Several photos were taken providing a close look at the Raisins' internal armatures and detailing their extremely poor condition, including the absence of the A.C. puppet's head.
As of the 2010s, packages of Sun-Maid
Sun-Maid
Sun-Maid Growers of California is a cooperative of raisin growers headquartered in Kingsburg, California. It was founded in 1912 as the California Associated Raisin Company...
Natural California Raisins still modestly feature an updated California Raisin character. This figure is also included on CalRaisins.org.
In a 2011 interview, country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
artist Blake Shelton
Blake Shelton
Blake Tollison Shelton is an American country music artist. In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin". Released as the lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" went on to spend five weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts...
reminisced on collecting Hardee's California Raisin figures in his youth.
Discography
- The California Raisins Sing the Hit Songs - 1987, Priority RecordsPriority RecordsPriority Records is an American record label, owned and operated by EMI, which has made a name for itself dealing primarily in hip hop, pop and world...
- "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" - 1988 (single, peaked at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100)
- Sweet, Delicious, & Marvelous - 1988, Priority RecordsPriority RecordsPriority Records is an American record label, owned and operated by EMI, which has made a name for itself dealing primarily in hip hop, pop and world...
- Meet the Raisins! - 1988, Priority RecordsPriority RecordsPriority Records is an American record label, owned and operated by EMI, which has made a name for itself dealing primarily in hip hop, pop and world...
- Christmas with The California Raisins - 1988, Priority RecordsPriority RecordsPriority Records is an American record label, owned and operated by EMI, which has made a name for itself dealing primarily in hip hop, pop and world...
Awards and nominations
- A Claymation Christmas Celebration - Primetime Emmy
- The California Raisins: Meet the Raisins! - Primetime Emmy nominee