American Idol – The Winner Surprises Nobody and Was That Dana Carvey?

Season 21 has wrapped up with two of my top three battling for the title of this season’s American Idol, and the winner shouldn’t surprise you. This contestant was an early favorite and his popularity never tapered off. It’s Iam Tongi! (as if you didn’t already know 🙃)

Megan Danielle ended up getting second place. I was hoping Zachariah Smith would win but somewhere about halfway through the live rounds he plateaued, maybe just not the best song choices. I started missing his spunk and his funk and my hopes sunk. Here’s a little bit of that funk in his finale performance with Dana Carvey.

ABC was milking the cow for all it was worth, making the show go on…and on… and on… for THREE HOURS! I think Zachariah adopted another kid in that span of time. Nutsa went to Georgia and back in that span of time. Oliver grew out his hair and shaved it again in that span of time. It was too long, ABC! You did us dirty, especially with performances we never knew we never wanted (see: two Pitbull songs). The whole show could’ve easily been done in an hour, but even two would’ve been understandable.

Other than the finale going way too long, I enjoyed the season a lot. From the introduction of Fire to the very last vote totals, it was a great season full of amazing talent… and that’s in spite of Katy Perry sometimes making a fool of herself without even knowing it.

-Out of the Wilderness

So you want to be a varsity cheerleader?

The other day my niece found out she made the high school cheerleading team… AS A FRESHMAN. Hello, someone’s got some talent! I don’t know much about cheerleading, and I’ll never figure out how the judges score competition cheer events, but I know making varsity as a freshman on any school team is quite an accomplishment. I’m very proud of her. But I’m a little confused about how the team made the announcement…

All kinds of numbers in no particular order. Just imagine the blonde cheerleaders trying to figure that out! I’m a brunette adult male and even I’m confused.

Complaints about my sexist comment can be submitted in the comments below…

-Out of the Wilderness

The Amazon Fighting Brothers Commercial – The Music and More!

Amazon has a simple ad airing now that anyone with a sibling can totally relate to. When my brother and I were growing up, we were the best of friends and the worst of friends. Amazon captures this dichotomy pretty well in the commercial. Check it out then scroll down for more info…

The Music. Backing this commercial is a song performed by another set of brothers who go by the name Cage the Elephant. The siblings (with their bandmates) perform the song called “Trouble”…

The Tents You Can Buy. You can actually buy the tents seen in the commercial! I found them on Amazon for around $110. Click here for a link to both, once you’re there just select which design you want from the list of choices.

The Other Ads. Amazon has released a couple of commercials recently (see: Mustache Girl and Chef Guy) but so far they haven’t gone back to the well for the remakes of classic stories (see: Rapunzel and Medusa) featuring the well-known British-accented narrator woman. Maybe that campaign is over but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

As For My Brother and I. My brother and I eventually got over our petty and juvenile differences, which were usually solved by him wrestling me to the ground while I’m just laughing. Now we use our words like good, mature adults. 😏 We also have separate bedrooms which definitely helps lower the tension. It also helps that those bedrooms are in different cities. 🤪

I post every day at 1pm central so take a second to sign up for email reminders! See you tomorrow…

-Out of the Wilderness

Ford Raptor Commercial – “All In” on Gay Pride

Hello there and thanks for stopping by! I post every day at 1pm central so take a sec to sign up for email reminders. I write about all kinds of things from dating, camping, roller skating, and commercials like today’s post. For some reason Ford thought it would be a good idea to release some feminine energy with this Raptor commercial. Will this decision be a gigantic Bud Light-sized failure (Bud Light, making alcoholics sober since 2023), or is it a stroke of genius? Check out the ad and I’ll share my thoughts below…

This isn’t the first time Ford has walked a fine line of being “Ford tough” but also embracing their inner gayness. OK, that might be a stretch but there was another commercial featuring the Explorer “Men Only” edition which sort of belittled men and put women on a pedestal (check it here). Coupled with this gay Raptor commercial, what exactly is Ford saying about traditional male roles in society and culture?

My initial thought is that the commercial is dumb and out of touch. *Exaggeration upcoming* No gay people buy these big trucks!

OK, maybe there is a soft, uncallous hand-ful of gay men that drive pick-up trucks but not many. This advertisement totally missed the mark, then. Or does it? Maybe Ford sees the “tough” gay man (which is an obvious oxymoron) as an untapped market. In that case, there is money to be made and Ford’s on top of it! But one might wonder if they’re going to lose more customers than they gain because, if history and culture is any indication, the folks who buy Ford trucks (at least the big honkers that can pull 5th wheel trailers) are typically more traditional and won’t be super pumped about the colorful truck.

You know who should send a “thank you” card to Ford, though. Chevrolet. It must’ve felt like Christmas morning for them. Although, Chevy has done their fair share of catering to the 5SLBGNTLSWPD+ market. Maybe the real winners from this ad are companies like Nissan and Toyota… you know, the ones who focus on trucks and not gayness.

-Out of the Wilderness

Amazon Prime’s Chef Commercial – The Music and More!

I knew it wouldn’t be long before Amazon had another ad airing around the country. A recent commercial focusing on a mustached woman trying to fit in with her peers (actress and music in this post) has given way to a bearded man making meals. The facial hair isn’t what the ad’s about, though. This guy is an amateur chef moonlighting as a night guard but he’s about go pro with the help of Amazon… check it out then scroll down for more info!

The Music. Setting the mood is a song called “Memphis Soul Stew” by King Curtis. It was released in 1971. Here’s the full track…

The guy goes from eating simply sandwiches to gourmet creations aided by Amazon’s delivery services and videos on Amazon Prime (like “The Boys” and “James May: Oh Cook”). Do you like the commercial? What has been your experience with Amazon? Chime in below and I’ll see you tomorrow at 1pm central.

-Out of the Wilderness