Publix Thanksgiving Commercial – Dad’s A Loser and Mom’s Depressed

Hello and happy Thanksgiving! It’s a holiday that sometimes (all the time) gets overshadowed by Christmas music, Christmas shopping, everywhere decked out in red and green but there’s one grocery store that won’t let the November holiday go unnoticed. It’s Publix, of course! They’ve firmly established themselves as a place that when you’re there, you’re family. Or was that Olive Garden? Whatever. Publix is known for their warm and tender commercials (like this one) and for Thanksgiving they’re airing one featuring a mom and a daughter. Oh, a dad is in there, too, but my hot take is that the dad is the real loser this holiday season. Take a look at the ad then scroll down for the tasty breakdown…

Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone. He’s not a loser in the sense that his whole life is a waste but on this Thanksgiving, he’s losing. The poor dad is an afterthought for the entire minute-long commercial. He might be thinking, “Dooooon’t forget me when I’m gone!” but he ought to be saying DON’T FORGET ME WHEN I’M HERE!

*Whew* sorry about that. I just get riled up sometimes.

I actually hesitated to write more regarding the commercial because I already said my piece last November. I titled it “No One Smiles That Much” or something creepy like that. Read it here and you’ll never smile the same way again.

I’m A Grown Man. I wanted to give some attention to the dad in this post because his wife and daughter sure aren’t. He has two lines: “Yeah, I got them,” and “Hasn’t she made that stuffing like a million times before?” A question that goes unanswered, don’t forget. The icing on the cake, or the thyme in the stuffing, if you will, is how the mom’s demeanor changes when she talks about the dad.

“It’s a little quiet, you know… just me and dad.” Raises eyebrows.

Don’t underestimate her facial expression. She can’t stand not having her daughter there, and only having dad around is making her depressed and crazy at the same time.

This is not one of Publix’s better commercials. My advice: Less smiling, more conversation with the character lurking in the shadows (dad).

-Out of the Wilderness

The Chewy Talking Pets Christmas Commercials

Chewy is known for having pet-centric commercials (who is surprised by that!?) and for Christmas this year, they have a star dog, a Westie, spoiling Christmas for the family, who’s spoiling him with all the gifts. The third in the set below is a bengal mix cat who has a talent for guessing gifts, too. Take a look at the three ads then scroll down for more info…

These are right up there with the ad showing a cat who inherits the most when its owner’s will is read. Watch that one here and be prepared to laugh. I also find it interesting that most of the time when a dog is talking, it’s in a male voice and when a cat talks, it’s a female. This link between feline and femininity goes back centuries and is just as relevant today (ie. crazy cat ladies). The bond of a man and his dog is something everyone knows (ie. man’s best friend). Maybe it’s kind of like lady bugs. There are males but because of their name, it’s hard to automatically think of male lady bugs.

I remember when I was growing up thinking that cats and dogs were opposites. In some ways they are and that’s why there’s kind of an understood way of defining a person’s personality: are they a dog person or a cat person? But in reality, dogs and cats are very similar. Physically, it’s obvious how similar they are but they share traits that are alike, too.

So where I learned that these two creatures are opposites I’ll never know. I’m just glad I’m not allergic to dogs as some people are. However, I do have a cat allergy, so I will never be as hospitable as the guy in this Dos Equis commercial.

What are your thoughts on the Chewy commercials? Are you more of a cat person or a dog person? Chime in below!

-Out of the Wilderness

The Dos Equis Cat Allergy Commercial

Dos Equis is moving away from their contentious commercial where a “friend” tosses his buddy’s ukulele into a bonfire. With friends like that, who needs enemies, right? I did a blog about that commercial here. Meow they’re back with a dude who has a lot of cats, who’s going through a little cat-astrophe. His lady broke up with him (because of all the cats, maybe?) and he needs a place for himself, Whiskers, Kitty Purry, Fluffy, and the rest of the gang to stay till he can figure out next steps. Check out the commercial then scroll down for meowre info…

Achoo. As one who’s allergic to cats, I can totally related to the homeowner guy. He’s stuck between a purr and a hard place. He makes the tough choice to let his friend stay there for a bit. I’m nice like that, too. I’d go out of my way to look up a few Airbnbs for him. Beyond that, there’s a better chance that I’d watch Barbie again than letting him bunk up with me for an undetermined amount of time.

This is kind of a side bar. I don’t understand the feminization of (white) men in a lot of recent commercials, TV shows, movies, etc., but as platitudes say, we are where we are. It is what it is. This Dos Equis cat guy has some work to do and I’d say it starts with the reason for all the cats.

-Out of the Wilderness

College Game Day with the Jonas Brothers, Really?

College football probably won’t have any upset games today which elevates next week’s games even more. So what does ESPN College Game Day do to drum up ratings? Have the Jonas Brothers sing a ballad, of course! I’ll post a link to their “Strong Enough” performance but for now, here’s an interview that has no relevance whatsoever to college football.

After an audio fail and a few more seconds of listening, I went directly to Fox Big Noon Kickoff. Yep, that’s what I did. I know I’m a total dud but listening to married adult men sing a slow paced, melodic song about drinking at the bar till it closes with lines like, “So light me up, twist me something good, make it strong enough,” gets me super pumped for college football.

Said no one ever.

Sometimes marketing this way works fine. Other times, you have a combination of things that make no sense being combined. This boring Game Day Jonas Brothers thing is the latter. That’s why I quickly switched to Fox, which I’m enjoying quite a bit on Saturday mornings. It really gets on my nerves when bands and artists don’t read the room. Jonas Brothers, next time you perform for a hyped college crowd, think about picking an upbeat song even if it’s an old hit of yours. You don’t always have to promote your latest single.

-Out of the Wilderness

IKEA I Think We’re Alone Now – The Holiday Commercial

It’s kind of like when you go on vacation and then come home and need a vacation from your vacation. Sometimes the holidays can be a bit wild and that’s the sentiment in this IKEA Christmas commercial. Take a look then scroll down for more info and be sure to check my Popular TV Ads page for more about some of the best, and worst, commercials out there…

The Music. This is a well-known song from the 1980s called “I Think We’re Alone Now” by Tiffany. Here’s the full track in all its techno glory.

Anyone else getting “Let’s Go To the Mall” vibes from that video? Sheesh! Robin Sparkles is a legend.

Which rock band covered “I Think We’re Alone Now”? Hint… It’s not Blue Week. You got it, Green Day (specifically Billie Joe Armstrong).

The holidays can be crazy, but don’t let the stress steal your Christmas spirit (right Amazon?). What do you think of this commercial from IKEA? Chime in below!

-Out of the Wilderness