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
I was watching a recent episode of American Idol, or maybe we should spell it AmaricinIdyl so it matches the weird medicine taking up ad space during the commercials. Did you catch all the medicine commercials, drugs with an ‘x’ or a ‘z’ or a ‘q’ in the name? Here’s a list of the ones I happened to catch in just one Sunday night two-hour episode of AmaricinIdyl… I need to throw a ‘z’ somewhere in there, don’t I?
Drug ads during Amaricinzidyl:
Zeposia, Eliquis, Kisqali, Mounjaro, Rexulti, Nutrafol, Lybalvi, and my favorite… Cibinqo.
That last one’s just fun to say. Cibinqo. I guess the median age of an American Idol watcher is higher than I thought. Or maybe we’re just all suffering from hair loss, eczema, diabetus, depression, or a long list of other problems old people like us have. I can’t even fathom the side effects these things have because we all know the list would be longer than a Walgreens receipt AND the side effects are probably worse than the problem the pills are supposed to be solving. Kind of like what they say in this ad from VABYSMO.
That’s another fun word to say, but I wouldn’t want those (wet) eye-opening side effects.
Have you noticed a lot more ads for these types of drugs? I thought Joe Biden beat big Pharma. Doesn’t seem like it!
Update June 2023: Bud Light has ANOTHER commercial, it’s a slap in the face! More here…
Bud Light is in some serious hot water if what I’m reading is actually true. Apparently sales are down, WAY down, since stunning and brave trans superstar Dylan Mulvaney got canned a few weeks ago. Yep, Dylan with his 5 O’Clock shadow appeared on a can of Bud Light as he celebrated his 365th day as a woman. It’s hard to even type that without crumbling inside.
Bud Light probably should’ve just let things simmer down before releasing more ads but when’s the last time a company’s bad decision was followed up by a good one? Exactly. So Budweiser released this ad with a horse, and now they have a commercial featuring a song from country act Zac Brown Band, first airing during the NFL draft.
I could say more but I think this kind of says it all:
When the comments are turned off, you know things aren’t going so well. And who thought it would be a good idea to put this ad up during a sporting event where a lot of fans drink beer and AREN’T drinking your beer? Just admit you made a mistake, that would go a long way. Or better yet, if you want to celebrate women, hire biological women. There’s a novel idea.
The Music. The song in the ad is “Chicken Fried” by Zac Brown Band. It’s well-known in the country music genre so using it in the commercial was a very conscious choice. But in this case, not all publicity is good publicity. Bud Light just keeps stepping in cow pies with every step they make, don’t they? Zac Brown may have really stepped in it too by letting their song be used in the commercial. People who can’t comment on the Bud Light’s Youtube commercial video have moved over to the music video for “Chicken Fried,” and it ain’t pretty. Will Zac Brown Band suffer from their apparent support of the divisive beer brand?
You know I like my chicken fried, A cold beer on a Friday night.
It’s going to be a LONG time till that Friday night beer is a Bud Light. It also might be a while till that song gets played at a weekend bonfire.
UPDATE: Zac Brown Band couldn’t do it, but will Garth Brooks save Bud Light? Click here for more!
Well, that’s a fine how de’ ya’ do! Megan Danielle was cuter than a speckled pup under a cabbage leaf AND had us almost cryin’ crocodile tears when she gave her best American Idol performance of the season. She did Vince Gill’s “Go Rest High on That Mountain.”
I keep saying that Megan’s voice has something like the quality of a 65-year-old who’s been smoking for 70 years. Kind of like Phoebe singing with a cold on Friends. There’s just a quality that can’t really be duplicated. Then she picks a song with so much power and meaning behind it? We’ll all be dipped and rolled in cracker crumbs before we hear anyone outdo that little number! Unless Megan does what my sister suggested… sing “How Great Thou Art.” If she does that, just call me a sheep and herd me to the pen, I’ll be done voting for anyone else. You just know that performance would have us all grinnin’ like a possum eatin’ a sweet tater.
BUT I HAVE A SERIOUS QUESTION…
Why haven’t the judges mentioned that Haven Madison is so much like Taylor Swift? Not just in physical appearance even though she’s as cute as a spotted horse in a daisy pasture, but her style, talents, and delivery are so much like early Taylor Swift. I just can’t wrap my head around the music industry having two Taylors… but that might just be a ‘me’ problem.
With all the other mentions of artists in regards to their representation with the Idol contestants (lots of Chris Stapleton comparisons), still we only hear crickets when it comes to Haven and Taylor. There was a moment that made me chuckle in one of the episodes, and the perfect opportunity for Luke, Katy, or Lionel to say SOMEthing when Haven performed an original song called “Fifteen.” I thought to myself, “Did I just hear that right?” Why did I ask myself that except that there’s another song with that title by none other than Taylor Swift! How peculiar.
With that said, Haven is the total package even if her voice isn’t as strong as Megan or Zachariah or Iam (side note: neither is Taylor’s so who cares, right?). And it’s worth saying that she appears to be a great songwriter and no other contestant this season even comes close to her wardrobe choices. She simply blows everyone away with her style.
Other favorites in this poorly written recap of last night’s episode (I swear this is a recap!), Wé Ani, Colin, and of course, Iam. Wé Ani’s voice sounds years more mature than the others. While contestant like Tyson, for instance, sing about love but I just don’t believe it because he’s so young, Wé Ani’s voice tells a story that I can believe. Colin is the black horse of this season. He might very well trot up (like a horse does?) and win this thing. Iam, what else can be said that the judges and America haven’t already said? His voice is just amazing.
Do you have favorites this season? Did you cry during part of Megan’s performance, or the whole dang thing?
I’m going to start this post off with a serious question. Has there ever been a Publix commercial that failed to tug at your heart strings? Like, it totally misses the mark and makes you think, “Well, that was a huge fail!” If so, let me know in the comments below. I can think of only one (check it here) that doesn’t quite give me all the feels. Well, Publix is somewhere behind the curtain pulling our heart strings yet again with their latest Mother’s Day commercial. Take a look then scroll down for the delicious recipe of this red velvet dessert treat… and for those of you interested in the talented actors/actresses, click here for their names.
The Recipe. The husband isn’t making brownies but he is sure heck gonna get a lot of brownie points for making this meal (with the help of his mom-in-law) for his wife. The wife eventually reveals that the little red cupcakes he makes are her mom’s recipe but spoiler alert, the recipe is on Publix’s website for anyone to find!! Kudos to Grandma, though, for tricking her daughter all these years! Still, though, the sentiment is as sweet as the semisweet chocolate morsels in those red velvet muffins. OK they’re muffins and I called them cupcakes, but with 1.5 cups of sugar, hot dern, I bet they’ll taste like cupcakes. Here is the Publix recipe I found online. Make them for your mama (or wife), won’t ya? You might even score some brownie points along the way, and if you’re a husband out there, you can always use a few saved up brownie points, right? I wouldn’t know, I’m single.
What do you think of the commercial? Does it make it into your top commercials of all time (here’s my list)?
I’m not one to give reviews of fragrances because I guess my interests are in other areas (like writing, for instance!) so this post is definitely not a critique of the Coco Mademoiselle scent. It’s not even really a critique of the commercial but when it came on during an American Idol episode (of which I was being critical, see: Top 10 Nobody is Safe), I stopped what I was doing to watch and listen. Check it out then scroll down for more info…
The Music. Besides me, there was something else interesting introduced to the world, this song was released in 1978 by Amanda Lear. It’s called “Follow Me.”
The Actress. You might recognize the star of this commercial from movies or TV. She was in Hocus Pocus 2 as a good witch and starred in the reboot of “Gossip Girl.” Her name is Whitney Peak. Be sure to follow her on Instagram here, where she said of the ad and becoming the face of Coco Chanel…
I kept thinking I dreamt this up. Grinning from ear to ear. So proud to be the new coco. Never in my life would I have ever thought this would be my reality.
Whitney Peak (via Instagram)
Sounds like she’s very happy with her success! She also got a shoutout from another blossoming star in Hollywood, Sabrina Carpenter, who simply wrote on Whitney’s IG post:
WHITNEYYYYPEAAAAAAK
Sometimes all you need to do is use all caps and that’s enough to express your excitement. If this ad excites you, whether it’s the music, the talent, or something else, let me know in all caps below!
Out of the Wilderness 