After Back to the Future was given a huge budget by Universal Studios, the company began trying to recoup its money through product placement deals. One of the smaller deals was with the California Raisin Cooperative, who wanted to promote its raisins in the film. This placement didn't go over so well.
The California Raisins logo was displayed on a park bench that was being used by a vagrant as a bed. The cooperative was very angry and ended up getting its money back.
Two more successful promotions were for Pepsi and Texaco. The studio had originally lined up Coke and Shell for the film, but the producers vetoed those choices because Shell and Coke's 1955 logos were very similar to the ones used in 1985. Pepsi and Texaco's were dramatically different, so they would stand out in the film.
