 " I Heard It Through the Grapevine " has been used twice in television commercials – each time using session musicians recreating the style of the Marvin Gaye version . For the 1985 Levi 's 501 commercial , " Launderette " , featuring male model Nick Kamen , agency BBH and director Roger Lyons , owing to budgetary constraints , brought in Karl Jenkins and Mike Ratledge to recreate the sound of the Marvin Gaye original with Tony Jackson , a Barbadian background singer for Paul Young , handling vocals and P. P. Arnold on backing vocals . The commercial 's success prompted Tamla @-@ Motown to re @-@ release Gaye 's single with the Levi 's 501 logo on the sleeve — " an example of integrated marketing almost before the term was invented " . The record went to number eight on the UK Singles chart , marking its second chart performance . A year later , in 1986 , Buddy Miles was the singer for the clay animation group The California Raisins which sang it as part a TV advertising campaign . 
