The California Raisins Dancers

Illustration of a row raisins with arms and legs one wearing orange sunglasses and orange and white tennis shoes the others wearing blue and white tennis shoes with blue and black text on a white background

The California Raisins are a fictional rhythm and blues musical group created in 1987 by the California Raisin Advisory Board as a promotional gimmick for Sun-Maid Raisins.The commercials utilized claymation to deliver performances by anthropomorphized raisins. These ads gained enough popularity to produce merchandise and promotion through tie-ins such as Hardee’s Cinnamon ‘N’ Raisin biscuits and Post Raisin Bran cereal. Buddy Miles was responsible for lead vocals, singing tunes such as “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” a revival of Marvin Gaye’s 1968 hit.