OK, SERIOUSLY, WHO THE HELL dresses up with fancy hair and make-up and go out into the field to pick grapes?!?!?

I am SOOO TIRED of them always giving a new make-over to all the icons!! Like Strawberry Shortcake, Dora the Explorer.. who else am I forgetting?

While I don't disagree with your observations on other character redesigns, I disagree with your opinion on the Sun Maid.

While your explaination is possible, it is more likely that the artist is just not that skilled in using 3d modeling programs, as creating believable baggy clothing is hard to do.

All I know is that 3D raisin lady is really scary.

Hollywood where everyone is FIT and HEALTHY?????

BA HA HA HA HA HA!

Well, I shouldn't laugh. Some people actually believe that...

Its interesting to note that she appears to have gained a tan as well. Granted, it strikes me as more of a White Californian tan than a day laborer tan, but it could be a "I might be Hispanic" tan, at least.

I still prefer Sun-Mad raisins.

Apparently they grow their raisins in the Uncanny Valley. That video is creepy.

I noticed the darker skin first. Before I read anything, I was sure you were going to talk about her becoming racially ambiguous.

I agree with the first commenter. As someone who works with 3d modeling it just looks like it was done cheaply. Cloth is insanely difficult to render especially anything flowy. The other indicators of this are in the rather crappy texture and spec. I also point out that if they were trying to sexy her up they would have cut the shirt differently.

I am going to call this one as money saved.

Dear lord, yet another (bad) makeover.

What I find interesting about this ad is the juxtaposition of the rural and the urban. People think of raisins as old fashioned. Old fashioned is also equated with farming and rural life. So, to freshen up their image, the advertise associate raisins with something urban and trendy - Hollywood.

However, they still maintain an association with farming as part of the "organic" trend. Our raisins are "natural." They come from a farm, not a factory.

But raisins are not just for grandma and old fashioned country bumpkins, they're for fit, trendy, urban Hollywood stars, like you will be if you eat our product.

I noticed her tan too - and the slightly larger mouth with more teeth. And possibly the addition of make-up? The slight cat flick eyeliner, and definite appearance of blusher?

Her smile looks quite fixed, compared to the drawing, where she looks more like she's enjoying herself... Actually the computer image reminds me of those computer generated barbies (like this one: http://games.multimedia.cx/wp-content/uploads/secret-agent-barbie-sky-diving.jpg)

Still, not sure it's quite as drastic a make-over as Dora's or Strawberry Shortcake.

I agree with those who have commented on the lack of skill in the 3-D digital renderings--bottom line, the second ad looks cheap and creepy. However, I disagree that the first version is less sexualized than the second. The first image shows an attractive woman holding an abundant basket of fruit. She has the look of a classical figure, almost like 1950's version of a fertility goddess. The fruit basket acts as a representation of fecundity, the sun in the background even has the feel of a roundel. The second is modernized through bad computer graphics, maybe less repressed, but no more or less gussied up. I think we may have a tendency to underestimate the message in some retro icons because the style becomes more quaint with the passage of time. I mean, I agree that other female figurines have been made over to be more sexy, but I'm not sure that this is one of those cases.

It's ironic that the commercial is all about how "natural" the raisins are...yet they couldn't get a "natural" actress to dress up and act the part. they had to have a synthetic, computer-generated actress to tout the magnificence of the raisins...

Is this really the commercial that Sun Maid is going with? It seems... so sub-par; something that you might expect as a final project for a freshman CGI class, not a (presumably) well-funded advertising campaign.

I actually don't think the clothes are necessarily more form fitting - looking at the original graphic, the shape of the Sun Maid lady's breasts are clearly defined through her clothes, and a basket is covering her stomach so we can't see the way that her dress fits through there. The original is beautiful by the standards of the time that she was drawn, just as the new one is... well, is *supposed* to be attractive by the standards of our time.

I say "supposed to be" because damn, she is scary. I don't know if you've seen the commercials, but she is really, honestly frightening. I don't mean that like "she's so ugly that it's scary" or whatever. I mean I have had nightmares about the CGI Sun Maid Lady.

This post is a joke, right? I see bad animation. That is all.

She really doesn't look noticeably thinner than the original...

Maybe it's just because she's the "sun" maid, but does she look a little... darker to you?

I'm chalking this up to crappy rendering.

don't forget Rainbow Brite:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/16/rainbow-brites-makeover-s_n_323830.html

Eh, I think you're making mountains out of molehills. And don't accuse me of making a bad boob-job joke! :)

Seriously, I'm going to agree with several of the latter comments. I'm seeing a (poor) attempt at modernizing an advertising icon, but I think the "increasing sexualization and objectification" is a bit of a stretch. Or else we'd have to defend the apparent notion that full/firm breasts, slender build, form-fit clothes, etc *automatically* imply sexualization. She's young, thin, has unblemished skin...and therefore sexualized? Do we really want to open that can of worms?

And the tan? I'm quite surprised her tan is cause for concern. This can go so many ways.

*She obviously works outside in the sun. A suntan is hardly unusual.
*The "classic" icon has rosey cheeks and milky skin. Definitely Caucasian. The newer, supposedly "sexualized" version is slightly darker and could conceivably be several races or ethnicities. SocIm has commented numerous times on the use of women of color as objects of hypersexualization while Caucasian skin is connected to cleanliness and purity and innocence and virginity. But by making note of her darker skin as "evidence" of sexualization, you're falling into your own criticism.
*The CG image is horribly rendered to begin with. Just imagine how horrible and freakish and unnatural it would look if they'd retained her original complexion.

Should we also (attempt to) point out the sexism in the brand being called "Sun-Maid" and how the mascot is a woman in the garden? Is the idea of a "Sun-Man" gathering grapes so outlandish that we can only picture a woman doing this "woman's work"? (hopefully you can see I'm being facetious here, and hopefully you can see my point)

This is actually pretty old. At least three years. I'm surprised this is just now appearing on the blog-o-sphere. I remember watching the commercial and being scared by the total fakeness and cheapness of it.

It looks like it was just cheap CGI, cloth is hard to replicate, so they probably went with a more "form-fitting" look just to save money.

Think "Veggie Tales" a seamless object is easier to render and animate than a flowing one.

Sorry, but the only real difference I'm seeing here is that she went from a charming drawing to a badly made video game character.

Omg they're "objectifying" a functional mascot? A literal object? Lol. You're through the looking glass with this one, completely deranged posts. I'm starting to think you have some major issues with sexuality that need to be addressed with your therapist if you really have a problem with an updated mascot artwork. Would you like to put pants on Michaneglo's David? Should lady Justice start wearing a bra?