Posting daily at 1pm central about all kinds of things. One day it's dating, the next it's TV commercials. I hope you're entertained. Professional photos on SmugMug – https://benwilder.smugmug.com
It’s the holiday season so Santa must be doing his stretches, waxing his sleigh, and ironing his suit because he’s about to be a busy man. But you know, he might be able to get around easier (and without as much reindeer poo) with a Toyota Tacoma. It sure worked well for the granddaughter in the latest Toyota commercial. Inspired by her grandmother, she takes her Tacoma on a road trip to recreate some of grandma’s photos. Turns out grandma has a Toyota pickup truck, too. Here’s the ad, then scroll down to find out more about the young actress and the old truck.
The Actress. The star of the ad is a young actress named Annie Thurman and she’s based in Nashville, Tennessee. She has a growing resume of acting work. Find out what shows and movies she’s been in on her IMDb page. Of course, there’s also Instagram @AnnieThurman …where she posted a few pics from the shoot, looks like a fun day.
The Truck. The granddaughter has a new Tacoma but what yellow truck is grandma driving?
photo courtesy of Toyota Pressroom
From what I can find, this is a 1977 Toyota Hilux. Any car folks out there can feel free to correct me if the year is off a bit. Cool truck!
This is a great commercial. But don’t worry, you don’t have to buy a brand new truck to have sweet moments with family. Even a used Toyota would be special. 😉
I had this post mostly finished before the college playoffs teams were announced. All I had to do was drop in a few more thoughts once things were official but then the committee went and screwed it all up. Thanks a lot, Auburn! I’m going to suggest a conspiracy that’s completely unrealistic but what if Auburn was playing the long game with FSU. Remember 10 years ago when FSU beat Auburn in the national championship? Auburn called themselves “The team of destiny” because they had a couple of fortunate things go their way during the season (miraculous wins against Georgia and Alabama). Then they go on to lose the championship to FSU. Have they held a grudge since then, waiting for the perfect time for revenge?
Last week’s Iron Bowl. Auburn vs. Alabama. A few minutes to go in the 4th quarter. Auburn has the lead and a 99% chance of winning against Alabama. Auburn fumbles punt. Auburn rushes 2 on 4th down and 31. Alabama scores. Alabama wins. Alabama makes it to the SEC championship. Alabama wins. Alabama, ranked #8 yesterday, makes it to the college football playoffs today. Undefeated Florida State wins ACC, drops to #5 being replaced by Alabama.
But all kidding aside, there’s never been a moment up until now where I believed cash rules everything around me. I fully agree with this post from a friend of a friend on Facebook…
I’m not an FSU fan but today college football is a joke. It’s all about the Benjamins. Which matchups will bring in the most money? Money, money, money. It’s sick. Plus, I keep referencing 90s rap songs and I don’t know why.
Here are a few thoughts from people on Twitter. They’re all cold as ice, ice, baby.
Posted before the top 4 were revealed…
Also posted before the reveal, this from Robert Griffin III…
Referencing FSU not making it in…
No truer words have ever been spoken…
The older I get, the less faith I have in people. But the end of the day, it’s just a game. Grown men playing a game. Does it really matter? No. But there’s something to be said about acting with integrity and fairness. Today, the committee embarrassed itself and it’ll take a long time to recover. If ever. You might say they’re insane in the brain.
OK, I spent a lot of time writing the original post so I’m not deleting it! If you have time and you’re bored, check out what I originally wrote before the playoff spots were announced. I haven’t edited it at all since the announcement. I called it:
“College Football Playoffs – Who’s In and Who’s Mad About It?”
With Georgia losing to America’s most hated team (‘Bama) in the SEC championship yesterday, there’s a shakeup in the top 4. The final top 4 playoff rankings forever. Next year, do you think there’s going to be so much drama figuring out who nabs the 12th spot in the college football playoffs?
Drama. Everyone has an “expert” opinion on who should make the top 4 but I assume most have agreed it’s Michigan and Washington in the top 2 spots after they won their conference championships. So there are 2 slots up for grabs. Well, to be chronologically correct… there WERE 2 slots up for grabs.
The final 4 are: Michigan, Washington, Florida State, and Texas.
This is bound to tick off the entitled Alabama fans (which is all of the Alabama fans). I guess their lucky win vs. Auburn doesn’t factor in to how much or little they “deserve” to be in the playoffs. It’s about time the football gods stopped kissing up to the SEC! No Alabama, no Georgia… and all is right in the world.
I think everyone would agree that from the first week to the playoff seeds, college football has accomplish what sports are meant to do… entertain. It’s been a great season to watch as a football fan. Remember way back when Coach Prime was the top story in every newsfeed? Seems like ages ago. Expectations for Colorado’s season leveled out but even though they lost quite a few, the team has improved their record a lot since their one-win record last year.
Georgia Bulldogs were ranked #1 for nearly every week and with their loss to Alabama, boom they’re out! Florida State started out at #7 and now they’re #4 and headed to a matchup against Michigan (#1 in CFP rankings). The cheaters might end up as the national champions… until a few years go by and all their wins are vacated.
Washington, I don’t know anything about them except that I catch myself saying “Big Pennix Energy” a lot during their games. Texas, they looked good against Oklahoma State so they may be a sneaky good pick for winning it all in January.
Who doesn’t love a good album cover brainstorming session, am I right? It’s kind of like filling up sheets of paper with your signature back in middle school. You gotta get it just right. That’s the sentiment in this new commercial from Apple. A three-person band is using the same photo taken by the iPhone 15 but changing the focal point of the image.
It’s kind of a satire, right? Especially when the lead singer says the songs on the album are about her breakups and then the bandmate reminds her she broke up with him. Subtle and hilarious. Then you have the third musician, the one who inevitably stumbles in drunk after a night of debauchery. This band member is Brian. Brian touches the phone to put the image focus on him, of course, and calls it “iconic.” With that in mind, I’ll put in my $.02 because I was the 4th member of the band but they kicked me out for being too deep in my songwriting or something about me not respecting them. I don’t know, I wasn’t listening. I was busy working on these sick and iconic album covers!
But seriously, those are just a few of my favorite photos from all my travels in the last couple of years. Which one would you pick for your album cover? Check out more of my photography here.
It’s the time of year we’re surrounded by red and green, tinsel and ornaments, Bing Crosby and Rudolph, and…. snow and Toyota trucks? Yes!
photo courtesy of Toyota Newsroom
There’s a new Christmas commercial featuring a granddaughter played by this actress, a grandmother who lends out her vintage Pentax Spotmatic camera, and a Toyota Tacoma. When it comes to holiday ads, there have been a handful of greats this year. One of the best is this Chevrolet commercial that will absolutely make you bawl but now Toyota gives it a run for its money. Take a look at the Tacoma ad then scroll down for more info…
The Locations. Part of this commercial was shot in the Seattle, Washington area known as Queen Anne. The address of the cute, green house is 2322 Bigelow Avenue North, which Zillow values around $1.9 million. Here’s a Google maps screen grab of the home I’ll never be able to afford…
Other hotspots from the commercial are Bob’s Java Jive and Frisco Freeze, both in Tacoma, Washington.
According to a reddit post, they also filmed in Langley on Whidbey Island, which must account for these shots from the commercial.
The Music. The singer in this commercial might sound familiar. Her name is Celeste and she’s also the featured singer in this Coca-Cola More Santas commercial. The music in this Toyota commercial is a song called “A Little Love.” Here’s the full track…
Where does this commercial stack up for you against other Christmas commercials this year? Does it make you want to rush out and buy a Tacoma? Save a little dough and pick up my children’s books instead. 😉 I have two, one for newborns, the other for toddlers. Check them out and I hope you like them!
Big and Small, God Made Them All – Contrasting small creatures with large (sometimes VERY large) creatures in a colorful book of rhymes and a fun twist at the end.
The Brave Bamboo – A timid pup named Bamboo isn’t the bravest pup on the block but when it counts, he shows up and saves the day!
Christmas music has been on radios since before Thanksgiving, which (glass half full) gives us an opportunity to hear holiday songs we might not have heard before… along with the traditional favorites, of course. If you want to listen to my full Christmas playlist, check it out on Spotify below, then scroll down for the new additions for 2023.
Here are a few songs I’ve added to the list this season…
Out of the Wilderness 