The California Raisin Advisory Board (or CALRAB) was a
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
state marketing commission based in
Fresno, California
Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...
that was created in the mid-1900s to coordinate the regulation and promotion of the state's
raisin
A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the d ...
crop.
The group became most noted from 1986 to 1994 for developing an international advertising campaign using
The California Raisins
The California Raisins were a fictional rhythm and blues animated musical group as well as advertising and merchandising characters composed of anthropomorphized raisins. Lead vocals were sung by musician Buddy Miles. The California Raisins w ...
claymation
Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay.
Tra ...
characters.
The California Raisin campaign was funded by an initial grant of US$3 million from the
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...
.
Although popular with the public, the California Raisin campaign eventually failed because its production cost the raisin growers almost twice their earnings.
CALRAB was closed on July 31, 1994, due to disagreements with raisin producers over the fairness of required payments to the organization.
In 1998, the California Raisin Marketing Board, funded by raisin growers, was established to replace CALRAB as the promotional organization for the raisin crop.
References
External links
California Raisin Marketing Board website
Raisins
Agriculture in California
Agricultural marketing organizations
Agricultural organizations based in the United States
Defunct organizations based in California
Organizations based in Fresno, California
1900s establishments in California
1998 disestablishments in California
Government agencies established in the 1900s
Organizations disestablished in 1998
Agricultural marketing in the United States
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