Last Dance For California Raisins?

SAN FRANCISCO - The animated raisins that danced off the vine and into the hearts of U.S. consumers are sitting out the next TV commercial, yielding the advertising spotlight to a new clay character.

The California Raisin Advisory Board and its advertising company which, since 1986, have used award-winning Will Vinton Pro

ductions for memorable ``Claymation'' television ads, said yesterday that they have chosen a new studio.

``There are some slightly different things we wanted to try,'' said Louise Ure, vice president of Foote Cone & Belding, an advertising studio that handles the board's commercials.

``It's just that there are other options out there, more clay animators.''

The shade-wearing raisins that strutted to ``I Heard it Through the Grapevine'' - and appeared on T-shirts and dozens of other products - will be succeeded by a commercial by Sculptoons, a San Francisco studio whose owners are former animators with Portland, Ore.-based Will Vinton.

The new spots will feature an animated clay version of actor Carl Ballantine, who appeared as Gruber in the 1960s TV series ``McHale's Navy,'' said Tom Gasek, co-owner of Sculptoons. ``Ballantine'' will play the raisins' manager.

Ure said California raisins will appear in the commercials, which are expected to air next month, but she declined to discuss details. Gasek, however, said the raisins wouldn't be singing or dancing.

``You'll see a raisin phone, a raisin lamp, things like that,'' he said.

Will Vinton Productions, which won an Academy Award in 1975 for its first animated short, ``Closed Monday,'' was disappointed but not disturbed by the decision.

``We feel kind of strange not doing the new commercial, but it's not hurtful to us; we normally do between 20 and 30 commercials for various clients, so one commercial'' won't make much of a difference, said Robert Phinney, vice president. Another of the studio's creations is the ``Noid'' character seen on Domino's Pizza commercials.

He and Ure - whose company seeks bids from various studios for each raisin ad rather than contracting with one company - said their companies had a good relationship and hoped to work together again.

Will Vinton's seven dancing raisin commercials enjoyed critical and practical success since the clay figures' September 1986 debut.

The spots won four Clio awards for advertising excellence and helped boost sales of raisins, a $500 million industry in the state's Central Valley. Over a 3 1/2-year period ending last year, U.S. consumption rose nearly 20 percent, said Linda Wood, spokeswoman for the California Raisin Advisory Board.

California farmers sold more raisins in 1989 than in any other year except 1984, when growers dropped the price about 30 percent, Ure said.

``It took everyone by surprise,'' she said of the commercials' success. ``We thought it had great promise but we were absolutely astounded by the way the American people embraced the dancing raisins. . . .

``There's a certain charm to the characters, and the music is great. It is so reminiscent for people of a great time in our lives. . . . It made people think about raisins a lot more.''

The TV spots also spawned dancing raisin T-shirts, lunch boxes, beach towels and other products.

``You name it, we had it. We had about 300 items,'' Wood said. The number of raisin products has now dropped to about 10, but sales of the fruit itself are holding steady, Wood said.