The iPhone 17 Crash Zoom Detectives Commercial – The Actors and More

They don’t usually solve crimes… but when they try, it’s shot on an iPhone. We first saw these sleuths in an iPhone 13 commercial where one had main character energy and the other was, well, blurry. But now they’re both in focus with a whole new crime they probably won’t solve. And that’s OK because that’s not the point. Watch the detectives do their thing in a brand new iPhone 17 commercial then scroll down for more…

The Actors. Reprising their roles in these “high stakes” iPhone movies are actor/painter Tate Ellington (@TateEllington) and artist/actor Eme Ikwuakor (@Ikwuakor). This is the third time the pair have joined together to “fight crime” and maybe one day we’ll get a full-length movie. You know, one where we actually see the crime and, even better, the resolution of said crime. I love these ads for a few reasons:

  1. Satirical- highlighting the sneaky way movies can draw the audience in just by using certain technical methods. Each of the iPhone commercials are saturated in one serious aspect or another pertaining to filmmaking and draws a lot of humor from that.
  2. We never actually see the duo solve any crimes… which is hilarious. In all three ads, they talk about the crime, they’re working towards solving it, but nothing actually happens to catch the criminals.
  3. The “overacting” by the actors is actually not overacting at all. Just super dramatic to sort of poke fun at all the thriller movies we love. In one sense, these actors are acting like overacting actors, which must be hard for actors to act like.

Here are the first two Apple ads with the detectives.

What do you think about the new addition to the detectives catalogue of commercials? I’m a fan. Looking forward to the next one!

-Out of the Wilderness

College National Champs and Super Bowl Champions in Florida?

The football season in college and the NFL has been like an episode of Stranger Things. Bad teams are good and good teams aren’t even in the playoffs. For college, one of the best teams all year, Ohio State, was eliminated in their first playoff game after having a bye for the first week. Texas was the pre-season #1 and they missed the playoffs completely. In the NFL, the Patriots and the Bears are good. The Chiefs didn’t even make the playoffs.

But wouldn’t it be wild if two teams that haven’t been that good in the last few years, the University of Miami and the Jacksonville Jaguars end up being the champions of football? Miami is one of four left and still have a tough road ahead. The Jaguars are peaking going into the playoffs so it’s very possible that the state of Florida is home to two champions in the highest levels of football.

And I didn’t even mention the Tampa Buccaneers! Their destiny is in the hands of the New Orleans Saints. If the Saints march past the Falcons, the Bucs will go marching into the playoffs.

Fun times ahead in the football world.

-Out of the Wilderness

Two Best College Football Moments – 2025

College football has been quite entertaining this season. It’s nice not being tied to any particular team because then I get to cheer for whoever I want for any reason. Underdog? Sure! Whoever plays against Alabama? You know it! The playoffs have narrowed the teams down to four: Ole Miss, Miami, Oregon, Indiana. Some of the best didn’t finish the season like they’d hoped but there are still two best moments from what I’ve seen this season. Of course, there are incredible catches, comebacks, and quarterbacks, but off the field is where my favorite things happened.

  1. The ACC referees letting viewers in on yellow flag and challenge decisions. They call it the game-day review center. Every game should have this.

2. Brutus crossing out the M and writing Ohio in the snow during the Michigan game.

There are tons more great moments but these are my top 2. What are your favorites from the season?

-Out of the Wilderness

The TurboTax Want to Ride My Bicycle Commercial – The Song and More

No one likes doing taxes. So what does TurboTax do? Pair taxes with something a lot of people like doing- riding bikes! From the good ol’ days riding side by side with my brother (who inspired this trucker cap) like we were Jon and Ponch (if you know, you know) to cycling through towns in sprint triathlons, I love riding my bike.

If you’re going to feature cycling in your ad, what song would go well with that? Well, TurboTax might have picked the perfect song. Check out the commercial then scroll down for more about the song…

The Song. The song is “Bicycle Race” performed by Ravyn Lenae. Here’s the full track as released in 2025.

One of One. Of course, we need to give credit where credit is due. The song was originally released in 1978 by Queen. Listen to Freddie Mercury’s unforgettable voice in the song (which he wrote) below.

Maybe this ad won’t make taxes any more fun, but it’s a good reminder to get on our bikes and ride!

-Out of the Wilderness