The Publix Puppy Puppet Commercial in 2026 – Pure Genius

In an age where there’s an AI video for EVERYthing– and even AI commercials (see: Coca-Cola)– and along with that, a certain and almost tangible level of AI-fatigue, Publix restores our faith in humanity– and puppetry– with a brand new commercial that’s as informative as it is adorable. Take a look…

Aren’t dogs just the best!? OK OK, cats are cool, too. The commercial did a wonderful job of endearing us to the pack of misfit dogs and throwing in a witty interaction with a cat, perched high above the dogs– right where it believes it should be. 🙄 This ad is a throwback to human ingenuity, using actual puppets and pleasant, rich voiceovers that sell the story as much as the visuals do. Perhaps this nod to old commercials is catching on since it wasn’t that long ago that Apple did an ad using the same type of puppet animation. Take a look at that one here. But let’s get back to where shopping is a pleasure– Publix. Another great commercial full of warmth, creativity, and humor. There’s a great article on the new Publix ad campaign; Read it here on Little Black Book Online. I read through it and that’s where I learned that the agency behind the creative side is also responsible for the Publix Merry Birthday commercial, another favorite of mine– especially as a person with a birthday near Christmas.

f I could pick 5 words to describe this commercial from Publix: Awesome. Refreshing. Funny. Impressive. Classic. I’d even venture to say it’s going to be the best commercial of 2026 and outshines any (if these are the standard for creativity) Super Bowl commercial I’ve seen in a very long time. Kudos Publix and everyone involved!

What do you think about it? Comment below…

-Out of the Wilderness

Open Mic Night Thursdays 7-10pm

Singing at an open mic night gives me as much anxiety as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. How about you? I can think of about a thousand things I’d rather do. Although, I’ll brag a little bit– against my nature I performed “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton on a karaoke night and I remember people singing along. Before you give me any kudos, I’ll also admit that it was about 3 years ago. I have mucho stage fright! But live music is the best. As a nod to performers and singers and music, I designed this shirt. Check it out in my Etsy shop– Out of the Wilderness. Hope you take a chance and pick one up so you can wear it to your next performance. 🙂

-Out of the Wilderness

American Idol Top 5: The Rise and Fall of Brooks

Last night we witnessed the elimination of a legitimate contender. Of course, by now everyone knows the winner will either be Hannah or Keyla. My money (even though I don’t bet anymore) is on Keyla. But early on my pick for the winner was Brooks.

He was quirky, charming, sweet, different. He performed songs that made a lot of us fall in love with his voice and the lyrics. Judges praised his peculiar sound, astounded as he drew us in with every note. What helped him a lot was song choice. Lyric-heavy, melodic, storytelling.

Then somewhere along the way he lost that angle. I noticed it when he picked “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus on the Disney-themed night. Something was off. Coincidentally, this was the same episode his relationship with another contestant came to light. Rae.

It was at this time in Brooks character arc that he went from those obscure ballads that drew us in from the first note to happy, soft songs. In other words, the beginning of the end.

The most recent episode featured contestants singing songs by Taylor Swift. I believe that if Brooks had done “Back to December,” he’d still be in the competition. It’s a song that is a little darker, sad, remorseful, right in the wheelhouse of a voice like Brooks’. He chose “Love Story” instead. A fluffy song not suitable for his voice. He dedicated it to Rae and the final nail was in the coffin.

I’m glad he found love with Rae but I hate the price he paid for it.

-Out of the Wilderness

It Was Just Two Points! A Pickleball Story.

I can’t exactly explain why I’m a certain way when it comes to sports. Off the field, off the court, I’m generally a nice person. I’d even go so far as to say I’m more passive than I am aggressive. Then I step onto the pickleball court or put my softball glove on and take the field. I turn into someone else and I kinda like that version of me… most of the time. I guess I can chalk it up to competing with my siblings as we grew up. As the youngest of 4, I was pretty much always getting the L which fed two things: My temper and my drive to not get the L next time. When my temper flares, sometimes I get a little loose with my words too, which can get me in trouble.

There are two scenarios that get me upset: 1. Me. When I do something wrong or make a bad play or whatever. And 2. When the opponents are poor sports. Poor sportsmanship can look like trash talk, cheating, or bragging way too much. The inspiration of this post falls into a secret 4th category: gaslighting. I can’t actually remember any time in my sports experience where the other side wanted me to believe something was true more than what happened earlier this week. Plus, the term “gaslighting” has only become a common phrase in the last few years so maybe it’s happened all of my life it just wasn’t labeled so specifically.

It happened on the pickleball court and without getting into too many details, the doubles team we were up against finagled their way into two extra points. My partner and I, had the score been kept properly won the game 21-19 but somewhere about midway through when we were winning 14-11, the other team questioned the score so instead of fighting about it, our team backed off just to keep the game going. That was one point subtracted from our score so now we’re winning 13-11 instead of 14-11. Then at the end, the other team obtained a phantom point and when we protested, they didn’t back off… which made the score 21-20 in their favor. The game finished at 22-20 because of two points that magically gave them the win. 🥴

Given my sense of playing fairly and absolutely detesting anyone who is even possibly maybe cheating, I was livid. And guess what one of the other players came up to me and said? Seeing I was upset, she smiled and said, “But Ben, we didn’t take that point when it was 14-11.” Umm, what?!!?!?!?!?!? They absolutely DID take that point and now I know first hand (again!) that these two players have a bad reputation for cheating.

But at the end of the day, we’re hitting a plastic ball over a net so I guess I shouldn’t get so upset about a silly game. But cheating and bad sportsmanship (and now, gaslighting) will tick me off every time, no matter how old I am or what sport I’m playing. Here’s a picture of me with Taylor Swift.

-Out of the Wilderness

An Eagle and a Sarcastic Crow

I guess I’ve liked birds for a long time. Just today I went out to a nearby lake puddle (when was the last time it rained in north Florida??) to spy on a bald eagle. Just a minute or two of watching it on land before it flew up so high, and it was swirling around with vultures. And when I say high, I mean…. I’ve never seen birds ascend that high that quickly. It was pretty cool. I recently designed a print with an eagle (on my Etsy site here)…

And my latest design is a crow…..because why not? Crows have been on the forefront of my mind as I thought about what I wanted to make next. This one isn’t even available yet on my Etsy site but it will be soon. The working title is “Sarcastic Crow”…

You’re second guessing your recent decisions, aren’t you? That crow side-eye will get ya, huh. What bird should I work on next?

-Out of the Wilderness