Lessons from dried grapes nobody talks about anymore.
A Friday newsletter that heard some ad history through the grapevine.
I saw a post about the California Raisin’s 1989 Valentine’s Day cards.
Nobody talks about raisins anymore.
So how did claymation raisins dominate the late 1980s, then completely disappear?
Let’s go back to the future.
Picture the 1970s. Nobody wanted to eat raisins then either.
The California Raisin Advisory Board (CALRAB for short) repped 5,000 growers.
Turns out dried grapes are not that appealing.
They tried everything.
They branded them “Nature’s Candy”.
Which I think we can all agree is gross.
They slow-mo’d them on salads.
Nothing worked.
They needed their Marlboro Man. They needed a raisin version of MillerTime.
In 1986 a copywriter (It’s always the writers) with Foote, Cone & Belding (No, not the Belding from Saved By The Bell) was trying to solve the problem of they tried everything but singing dried grapes.
So he literally sang and danced to “I heard It Through The Grapevine” in the pitch.
Well, the rest is they hired Will Vinton, an Oscar winning animator.
You’ll tell me to shut up when you hear he later trademarked the term “Claymation”.
Or that he also created the Red and Yellow M&Ms that we still see today.
It’s crazy that the Raisin Advisory board had $300,000 to drop on the first spot in 1986.
Sales spiked 20%.
It created a literal raisin boom.
By 1988 per capita raisin consumption was 2.5 pounds.
That is absurd.
The song went to #84 on the top 100.
The “fictional” raisin band released four albums.
The brand unleashed 300 different products.
They won an Emmy.
The raisins had a Christmas special in ‘87.
They made a Mockumentary: Meet the Raisins.
And a 13-episode Saturday morning cartoon.
Michael Jackson was turned into claymation and his spot debuted in 5,700 movie theatres.
More importantly, if your ad campaign doesn’t get toys, is it really successful?
By 88 they were making more money off the merch than the raisins.
They were also spending more money on marketing than growers could stomach.
By 1989 the peak, had peaked.
On July 31, 1994 CALRAB collapses.
The California Raisins were officially finished.
Raisins like A.C., Beebop, Stretch, Red, Tiny Goodbite, Justin X. Grape, Sax Playerand Ben Indasun were no longer the cultural hot commodity. (Yes, they had names)
The trademarks became property of the State of California.
A new raisin org obtains the licenses in 1998 and would try a few times to revive the brand.
As late as 2015 the irresistible candy of Hollywood (IP and nostalgia) tried to get a reboot movie off the ground.
It failed.
Per capita consumption keeps falling.
Acreage for raisins is now 33% less than it was a decade ago.
The last notable campaign for raisins was for Sun Maid. Over 20 years ago.
They are buried deep in trail mixes, granola bars and baking aisles.
It’s no longer a star or a snack.
The lesson? Advertising can't save a product people don't actually want for very long.
At some point a dried grape nobody thinks about anymore is still just a dried grape destined for granola. Novelty always wears off.
THE PORT OLD FASHIONED.
It only seems appropriate to pay tribute to dried grapes by making a mockery of an Old Fashioned by adding some port.
1 oz tawny port (10-year if you can swing it)
1 1/2 oz bourbon
1/2 oz simple syrup
Splash of soda water
Orange zest for garnish
Add the port, bourbon and simple syrup to a shaker with ice. Shake, strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice and think of the magical time for raisins from 1986 to 1989. To be fair it feels a little bit more Manhattanish than Old Fashioned. But not the worst.
The Drink Cart Friday Shot is your late Friday pick-me-up for pop culture brains and ad junkies. A fast pour of ad insights and hot takes, served like a quick round at your favourite dive bar after a week of client feedback.
I still remember the houses that gave boxes of raisins for Halloween. They did not get repeat visitors.