The Walmart Holiday Commercial with the Mom From Fresh Prince

Walmart has a cozy commercial for this Christmas season… along with practically everything you could ever think of to buy for the people you love. A couple of things that stand out from this commercial are the stars and the music. Before we get to that, here’s a little refresher, then scroll down for more!

The Mom. The spot opens with a woman receiving a Walmart package. Do you recognize her? It’s actress Vernee Watson, or as I remember her, Vy Smith: a scared mom who sent her son to Bel-Air after he got in one little fight. There are other star actors in the ad, too. You probably recognized Chevy Chase, Agnes from Despicable Me, SpongeBob, Lauren Graham, and Bart and Marge Simpson.

The Music. The song in the ad goes back half of a century. It’s The Temptations with “I Want A Love I Can See” from the 1960s. Great use of a song that highlights what Christmas means to a lot of people, showing love we can see by the gifts we give.

Walmart is usually one of the first to swap their merchandise to holiday-related goods so it makes sense that they’re already showing a Christmas commercial and we’re not even to Thanksgiving yet! Have you seen other Christmas commercials this season?

-Out of the Wilderness

The iPhone 16 Lazy Coworker Commercial – Is AI Making Us More Lazy?

I was just telling someone about my first memory of being ticked off when someone cheated at something. I was in middle school during P.E. class and we were assigned the task of running laps around the track. A classmate made sure the teacher wasn’t watching then cheated by cutting across the field. I burned inside when I saw this. He and I became friends later and he was a fine person, but I’ll never forget how I felt in that moment. I despise people cutting corners, cheating to get ahead.

Introducing the latest iPhone commercial. It appears as though my cheating classmate has been hired and now he’s your coworker! Take a look at his inattentiveness and immaturity only saved by Apple Intelligence bailing him out for what won’t be the last time.

The Music. This song has been used in a portfolio of Apple iPhone commercials. It’s called “Genius” by musician/rapper Krizz Kaliko (@krizzkaliko).

People won’t need much convincing that Apple Intelligence is awesome because the human race generally always will take the easy way out. Instead of thinking critically and coming up with something original and creative, we’ll leave that to the robots. There is an upside, I suppose. A tool like AI can help in situations where the user isn’t able to do things that phones and apps require. It can save time in creating images and text documents. I think the key is, as a friend said, make it work for us not us working for it. Although she was talking about a food delivery app. 🍔🍟🍕

How do you feel about the commercial? What are you hopeful about when it comes to AI? Do you have lazy coworkers (if you see Justin from middle school, tell him I said hi!)? Chime in below…

-Out of the Wilderness

Pepsi Pizza Commercial with the C8 Corvette – The Music, and More

It’s a YouTube-undercover-boss-trick-stunt-candid-camera-type commercial screeching into our lives with a slick Pepsi Corvette and a few unsuspecting pizza delivery people. Take a look then scroll down for more about the ad…

The Music. The rally song for this commercial is “STARTAFIGHT” by Joey Valence & Brae. Here’s the full track from 2022.

A Breakdown. The Pepsi people are trolling the pizza deliverers in the most literal way. But with good intentions, of course. And you know they’re right. Even if it’s not a Pepsi (I prefer root beer or Dr. Pepper, but that secret is just between me and you), pizza and soda is probably the second best combination anyone’s every thought of. The first best is peanut butter and jelly, obviously.

The ad campaign started in September and is airing alongside Pepsi’s Gladiator 2 promos.

What do you think about the commercial? And what about the C8 Corvette? Chime in below…

-Out of the Wilderness

What’s Tecovas and What’s That Song In Their Commercial?

During the final game of baseball’s World Series (where Freddie Freeman earned MVP) a commercial aired and drew me right in. It was the horses. It was the bison. It was the song. But to be honest, I didn’t even know what the commercial was about until I watched it again. Check it out and then scroll down for more info…

The Music. Backing the commercial is a song called “Faraway Skies” by Dean Johnson. The song was released in 2023 and the video was filmed in Wyoming. Take a look…

My Take. I love the song they chose for the Tecovas commercial. The sound compliments the visuals so well. What I don’t like is the subtle message that… we make boots! Maybe those who know, know. But for someone who’s evidently not a real cowboy, I had no idea what the ad was selling me. And yes, Tecovas makes boots. They’re also woven into the Yellowstone universe so that can’t be a bad thing. After watching the ad over again, there is a focus on the footwear that’s not hard to miss the 4th and 5th time around. But for viewers who have only seen it once on TV or streaming (but they don’t take the time to be nerdy like me, looking up the commercial to find out who in the western tumbleweed Tecavas is) I wonder if the product gets lost in the visuals.

But who doesn’t like horses and bison, right? Nothing says wild west like horses running freely and bison stomping through a dusty plain. For those things in the ad, I’ll say that I liked it. But for purposes of selling a product, the ad is a miss. I’ll wrap this up with one of my favorite photos from my camping trip out west featuring a lone bison walking up a Caprock Canyon State Park road. Wild. Big. Beautiful.

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-Out of the Wilderness

Tesla Cybercab Commercial – The Music, The Dates, and More

Tesla. Elon Musk. Why am I writing anything here when all you want to do is watch the commercial and find out what song’s in the ad? Fine, then! Have it your way. Here’s the ad then scroll down for the song info.

When I look up recipes, top 10 lists, etc, the few paragraphs before are an utter waste, am I right? So I totally understand why you didn’t want me to write anything at the top of this post, you rascal. But here I am yapping about our preferences when all you want is…

The Song. Backing this ad is a 2024 song called “Pura Vida” by Youval Ziso (@youval_ziso). Check out the full track below.

But Wait. There’s More! This robot taxi isn’t available yet so don’t get too excited. Production is scheduled to begin in 2026 so for now, keep your driver’s license handy and your Uber app up-to-date.

-Out of the Wilderness