I enjoyed a healthy lunch at Subway with my husband today. As I sat eating my raisins, (which I substituted in the place of chips) the thought occurred to me...Who ever came up with the concept for The California Raisins? I did some research, and found out that the concept was created in 1987 for a commercial for the California Raisin Advisory Board.
The commercial was such a hit, it was followed by other commercials, TV specials, a studio album, and a cartoon series. The raisins, A.C., Beebop (drums), Stretch (bass), and Red (piano), were in a Christmas special where they did a rendition of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".
It appears that this video aired on VH1 at some point. So awesome!
1 comment:
Yes, I recall every bit of it. I believe the Signed, Sealed, Delivered was the big finale of a TV special called Meet the Raisins (we taped it). Despite not liking raisins, I collected the figurines, starting with the ones that were available at Hardy's with purchase of their mini cinnamon rolls (with raisins, so I didn't eat them). After that, I bought them at random places, wherever I found them. I still have the figurines. I also had the two cassettes they released (re-recorded oldies), as if they were a real band. I remember Daddy Dan asking another parent, "How much do you think people get paid to sing new versions of these old songs?" It was like finding out that Santa Claus was just our parents. While the Board's marketing was shameless, it worked like a charm when I was seven years old. All except the part where I was supposed to want to buy raisins and enjoy them as a healthy alternative to sugary and fatty snacks. To this day, nothing has convinced me to do that.
-Brother
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