L.L. Bean Christmas Commercial – The Clothes, the Actor, and More!

Hello and thanks for checking out my commercial post today! Is it just me or is every single company making Christmas commercials this year? I’ve written about a few I never really expected to have holiday ads (click on each for the commercial) — Etsy, Sprite, and even The Red Cross. Spoiler alert, Sprite’s is pretty terrible. But I won’t be a Scrooge, most of the ads are great and just recently I wrote about the best commercial you’ll see all season from AT&T. Another new ad this year is from L.L. Bean. I’ve written about their Christmas ad last year, and it was simply adorable. This year’s offering is less adorable but still features the brand clothes and overall flavor we’ve come to expect from L.L. Bean. Take a look then scroll down for more info…

The Actor. Playing the part of William is actor Jeremy Gimenez. Check out more of his professional work on IMDb here. I can’t find much more about him but at least we know his name now!

The Clothing. The flannel shirt he’s wearing will run you between $89 and $129. The boots are $179. The vest, color is called emerald spruce, is $119. The snow cap, or beanie, whatever they’re called, is $29.95.

The Music. Briefly playing at the end of the commercial is “White Winter Hymnal” by Fleet Foxes. I wonder how much it costs to license that song for under 10 seconds?

Wrap Up. This doesn’t quite reach the cuteness level of their ad from last year, although the pup in this one is awfully adorable. I guess women might find “William” cute but I barely have an idea what women find attractive! Overall, it’s a good ad showcasing L.L. Bean products in a subtle, seasonal way. If I had to pick something that’s slightly confusing, it’s the opening text slide, “A Real L.L. Bean Holiday Story.” Are we supposed to believe someone wrote in with that story? This doesn’t seem quite genuine to me, so if it’s NOT a note from an actual customer, then why open the commercial like that?

How do you feel about the commercial? Does it give you the warm and fuzzy Christmas feels? Chime in below, and thanks for dropping in…

-Out of the Wilderness

The AT&T Christmas Commercial – The Song, the Singer, and More!

Just when you think the best holiday commercial has already aired this season (Amazon is was the best with their snow globe ad), another one comes along and becomes the glittery star at the top of the Christmas tree. Enter AT&T. Take a look at their ad featuring everyday heroes then scroll down for more about the music from the commercial…

The Music. The song is “Here Comes the Night,” most well-known by Them (Van Morrison) over 50 years ago. But as you’ve already figured out, this AT&T cover version is special. It’s one of those moments that stopped me in my tracks. I had to see and listen! The singer is Isla June, a singer/songwriter in Los Angeles. She’s on Instagram and TikTok (so follow her on those platforms- Instagram: @IslaJuneMusic and TikTok: @IslaJuneMusic) and one of her Instagram posts is such an endearing reaction of her watching the commercial on TV for the first time. There’s also an acoustic performance of the song with cover co-creator Trent Bower (so follow him, too… @trentbower). Confession, I might like the acoustic version better than the one in the commercial, if that’s possible? Check out both of the Instagram posts below.

The OG. Here’s the version of the song from way back in 1965 by Them (although the very first release of the song was by Lulu in 1964).

There are also covers by other famous artists, so I’ll include one of my favorite country singers, Dwight Yoakam, from 1997.

Final Take. Best cover of “Here Comes the Night,” hands down. In fact, is it sacrilegious to say this short cover of the chorus is BETTER than the entire original song? I’m sure anyone who hears and watches this commercial wouldn’t hate to have a full version from Isla June and Trent Bower. I’d be curious how they tackle the verses of the song, which have a fast tempo with lyrics that are less charming than we’d hope for such a tender chorus (it IS a break-up, lost-love song, after all). But the commercial music… I was not ready for it. Such a refreshing take on a song from last century. Because of the song and arrangement from Isla June and Trent Bower, AT&T has the best Christmas commercial this season and that’s saying a lot because, well, Publix is almost always #1, with ads like this.

How do you feel about this ad? Does it rank high on your holiday commercials list? Thanks for dropping in…

-Out of the Wilderness

What’s the point of one-ply toilet paper?

Pardon my “potty” mouth but for the life of me, I can’t figure out why one-ply toilet paper is a thing. The only benefits are that it’s thinner (for plumbing issues) and it’s cheaper. I guess, with the economy going in “the toilet,” we gotta pinch pennies wherever we can. I haven’t done the math at all but I doubt that single-ply is very much cheaper than two-ply. Why? Because every time you need to wipe, you’re bundling up so much of it, you might as well be using two-ply. It’s just silly!

Season 6 Friends GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

I’m a two-ply guy. I’ll proclaim it from the rooftops! Speaking of roofs, if you’re going to TP a house, stick with one-ply. Wasting two- or three-ply toilet paper is the stuff horror movies are made of.

Thanks for “rolling” by…

-Out of the Wilderness

The Sprite Christmas Commercial – Confusing!

It feels a little random for a soda not named Coke to have a Christmas commercial but Sprite (owned by Coca-Cola, so I guess it makes sense?) tries to harmonize its way to the holidays with their latest ad. Take a look…

The biggest fail. I’m not sure where to start with what I don’t like about this commercial. How about from a business angle? The ad has aired multiple times on TV and it took 4 or 5 times for me to figure out who it’s fore. Branding! There’s another ad from Yeti earlier this year that had this same problem. If viewers don’t know what’s being advertised, that’s a fail in the most critical way. The Sprite logo needs to be a lot more prominent in the commercial.

The Fast-Talker. I don’t necessarily blame the actor playing host in this ad. The writing is just too much. I’ve watched the commercial multiple times now and still can’t figure out half the things the host is saying. Even fast rapper Busta Rhymes has lyrics easier to decipher than this commercial!

Confusion. Overall, I’d sum up this commercial with one word… confusing. It’s all over the place. Why is there a trio singing in the first place? Who’s the band? What’s the point of any of this?

It’s as if there’s a talent show going on in the style of Showtime at the Apollo, except none of that is explained. And what does any of that have to do with Sprite? Clearly the more I think about this and try to break it down, the more annoyed I’m getting. In grand fashion, this ad falls to the very bottom of the holiday commercials this season.

Am I missing something with the ad? After watching it, what questions do you have and how do you feel about the commercial?

Thanks for dropping in!

-Out of the Wilderness

What I DON’T like about the Samsung Flip4

Usually my philosophy when it’s time to upgrade my cell phone is to get one that serves 3 purposes, besides the obvious stuff like call, text, data, etc.

  1. It’s not an iPhone
  2. Not expensive
  3. Get a phone that won’t get stolen

So basically, if I fulfill that first one by not getting an iPhone, the other two generally happen naturally. My last phone was a Motorola, before that was a HTC One, you get the idea. No one was going to be stealing those phones.

When it was time to upgrade the Motorola I waited until there was a good deal from Verizon. I had a cracked screen so I knew it was time for a new phone. Also, I should get a case for my phones, sheesh! I had my list narrowed down to the Flip 4, Pixel 7 Pro, and possibly the Motorola Edge. But a deal popped up for the Flip 4 that I couldn’t resist so here I am with a phone that’s not an iPhone (check!), but it’s mildly expensive (half check!), and I’m not sure but I think it could get stolen (no check!). Yep, I joined the flip side.

Because it’s new and shiny, I barely let it out of my sight and the other day I realized what I don’t like about it. It’s that I treat it like the ring and I’m Gollum! I was hanging out with my brother and a few of his kids and while that sounds like a ton of fun, which is true, I was on edge because the phone was in my pocket. We were doing something where it could’ve been damaged if I wasn’t careful. This “danger” actually affected my adventurous spirit. How lame is that?

I know that probably happens with any new toy (phones, computers, cars, etc) but I just don’t like that just in the first few days of having the phone it affected my mood, even if it was subtle. Actually, maybe it’s more annoying that it was subtle. But overly protective mood shift aside, the phone is pretty fantastic!

Do you have moments like I had, where you realize some external thing gave you anxiety where you usually don’t have anxiety? If you want to share, comment below!

Thanks for dropping (actually, the word “dropping” while talking about a new phone gives me anxiety again) stopping in…

-Out of the Wilderness