The Desperate Ploy To Make Raisins Cool That Actually Worked

In the 1970s and early '80s, nobody wanted to eat raisins. At least, that's how the California Raisin Advisory Board (CALRAB) felt. This group, composed of 5,000 growers, was struggling to find a way to make its dried grapes appealing to the public. Clever taglines and various culinary ideas simply weren't cutting it; despite the board's efforts, raisins were still one of the worst things you could get in your Halloween bucket. To borrow a phrase from the era, raisins were, like, totally lame.

Then, in 1986, CALRAB began a curious marketing campaign that featured a troupe of singing, dancing raisins grooving to a song that couldn't be a more appropriate choice for a group of animated raisins: "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." The move would skyrocket raisin sales and launch a pop culture phenomenon. The group was called the California Raisins — simple, easily recognizable, and unmistakable. The general idea of the campaign was to create a genuine fondness for these animated raisins by giving them personality. It didn't hurt that they also sported sunglasses, baseball caps, and flat top hairstyles. After all, they didn't need to be just likeable, they needed to be legitimately cool. And cool they were. 

Following CALRAB's first two commercials featuring the raisins, the board saw raisin sales soar, and during the years CALRAB used the California Raisins in their ads (that is, from 1986 to 1991), raisins were transformed from an overlooked snack to something everyone wanted a piece of. This is further proof that food mascots have the ability to convince shoppers to buy and spend more.

It didn't take long for the California Raisins to become mainstream darlings, and you'd be hard pressed to find an American Gen Xer who doesn't remember society's infatuation with the shriveled raisins. They were sold as toys, depicted in movies and cartoons, and were printed on countless t-shirts, lunchboxes, keychains, costumes, and even bedding items. It's also not surprising that the talented, dried fruits also recorded multiple successful albums.

All of this raisin awareness translated to increased sales, which was the precise point of introducing the California Raisins. But, after a handful of years, those sales began to even off rather than climb. The group was officially retired in 1994 but made special appearances in the early 2000s for various causes and campaigns. 

The mind behind the creation of the California Raisins, Will Vinton, went on to create many memorable characters, including the very successful M&M's characters. The California Raisins, however, were undeniably Vinton's most memorable and successful creation. This point was proven when the California Raisins were made a permanent part of the Smithsonian Institution. So, while the California Raisins might not have made our list of seven influential food mascots, their impact on American culture is widely appreciated.