Merry Birthday – The Publix Commercial For Christmas Birthdays

The new Christmas commercial from Publix is like a long, warm hug on a cold winter day for Christmas babies. OK, technically I was born the day after Christmas– what a great present for my sisters and brother, right? 🤔 –but I can confirm there is a tad bit of invisibility having a birthday during the Christmas holidays. This young lady in the ad is learning the hard truth and she won’t be happy to know that it never really gets easier. We just get more mature. 🥴🤪

Check out the commercial then scroll down for more…

Publix is running with the theme, even putting together a press release to explain the backstory and promos going along with the Merry Birthday campaign.

Long known for its iconic bakery offerings, Publix has brought the Merry Birthday cake from the film to life in every Publix Bakery. The cake comes in two versions: a two-tier cake, available by special order, and a one-tier 9-inch mini version, available in-stores and online. Special Merry Birthday wrapping paper and cards will also be available to purchase online at 363green.com to further the celebrations.

Not a real Publix cake, image generated through AI

The challenge Publix has with this commercial is its specificity. Births on Christmas are basically at the lowest numbers of any other day of the year so this commercial has the lowest possible audience relatability. And yet, to make an ad worthwhile, it still needs to endear itself to everyone else… you know, all the people born on the other 364 days of the year. Quite the challenge.

I think Publix succeeds because the ad is equal parts adorable, informative, and cheery; even if the birthday girl comes across cynical and bitter. I understand her frustration but she’ll be in a much more merry mood if she looks at her situation from a different angle. For one thing, having a birthday in December makes this season more special. Plus, she shares a birthday celebration with Jesus. Such a small crowd of lucky people can say that, something to brag about. Being born on Dec. 26th, I actually love looking at a calendar and seeing myself just to the right of Jesus. It makes me feel special, no gifts needed. For the commercial though, she deserves attention and Santa is the one to turn the spotlight towards her. The commercial ends with a merry birthday girl and Publix has another sweet, humorous holiday ad to add to their long list.

not the real Santa Claus, image generated through AI

-Out of the Wilderness

The Uber Christmas Commercial – Who’s Singing the Song?

I expect Christmas heartstrings being pulled during holiday commercials from brands like Publix, Amazon, and L.L. Bean. But you gotta be honest right now, you didn’t see an ad from Uber making you cry, did you? And no, it’s not about how little they pay their drivers that’s striking a chord with viewers. It’s family. It’s feelings. It’s Christmas. Of course, the music plays a big part. Check out the commercial then scroll down for more info…

The Song. Music featured in this commercial is “Landslide” covered by James Blake. Talk about the perfect song choice! Here’s the full track…

-Out of the Wilderness

Skillet Does A Christmas Song…

…and I have no notes.

There was chatter about a controversy, like Skillet didn’t honor the solemness of the traditional Christmas hymn. But who gives a flying flip? Skillet is a metal band. They tuned the song to their style so fans of metal might like a Christmas song more when they hear it that way. What’s the problem? Bands and singers have adapted a million billion songs from one genre to another and some are good, some are terrible. The idea that this one is so bad that some call it “demonic” is absurd and, quite frankly, embarrassing. I grew up as a kid in Baptist churches in the 1980s so I understand that there were rules in church– no smoking, no cussing, no rap or heavy metal music. But it’s 2025 and I think God is a little more complex than that. *sarcasm*

I’m not a metal music fan but I enjoyed Skillet’s interpretation. I might even play it for my Baptist church parents.

-Out of the Wilderness

The New Chevrolet Christmas Commercial – Not Merry Enough!

If aliens visited earth today, they’d think we had a very weird and passionate obsession with Wicked: For Good and, well, they’d be right. I can’t turn on the TV without some sort of promo for the movie. It’s getting tiresome. In the shadows of the sequel, though, is a holiday called Thanksgiving. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if someone changes it to Wickedsgiving this year. I want to go back to when Thanksgiving was just overshadowed by Christmas. To pay homage to those good ol’ days, I’m going to skip talking about Thanksgiving and get to the point of this post- a new Christmas commercial from Chevrolet! Check it out…

I really wanted to like the commercial. It wasn’t that long ago Chevy had a fantastic Christmas commercial (watch it here) that made me feel everything they wanted me to feel, only missing the mark when I didn’t go out to buy a Chevy that very second. But this new one, it’s a a soft no from me. While it did make me feel things, the overriding emotion was sadness. I’ve edited a few documentaries and the formula we used was to present the “doom and gloom” but then brighten the mood with “joy and hope.” This is where Chevy fell short. Too much auld lang syne, not enough jingle bells. As a viewer posted on Youtube:

As a guy who has owned 16 suburbans (currently 3), none newer than a 2011, I wonder when I watch these wonderful Christmas commercials if it ever occurs to the folks at Chevrolet: “maybe we should try making great cars again?” Instead of just making commercials about “remember when we made great cars?”

It’s a nice commercial. I give it a B- for the reason stated above, plus I can’t stand when they use makeup to make a young person look old. Ugh. It’s 2025 people. Get it together.

Merry Christmas…. and I guess, Happy Thanksgiving, too.

-Out of the Wilderness

The Apple iPhone 17 Wildlife Friends Commercial – The Puppets and Flight of the Conchords, Too

I’m pretty obsessed with wildlife so I’m going to go ahead and mark this Apple commercial is the best one I’ve ever seen. It’s creative and so cute with the little woodland creatures. Well, the not-so-little ones, too. Bears can be cute, right? Yes, yes they can. I have proof as seen in my children’s book “Big and Small, God Made Them All”…

Buy Now

Besides the fact that you could (and should?) buy my book, here’s Apple’s version of cute wildlife, then scroll down for more.

The commercial was also shot on the iPhone 17, too, which probably doesn’t surprise anyone. I mean, what’s the best way to advertise a camera on a phone in a commercial? The ad is a nod to, and pays homage to, “Friends” by Flight of the Conchords.

There’s also a backstage look at the making of the commercial. People continue to fascinate me with their talents, creativity, and skills!

-Out of the Wilderness