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 watched some football this past weekend and the reoccurring thought in my mind when I see the running, cutting, jumping, tackling is… “Ouch!” Not from the contact between two players. I’m talking about all those players bending their legs. Yep. Just bending their legs.
I went to a local orthopedic clinic last week after a bewildering pain in my knee that started during an adult slow-pitch softball game. After leaving there, pain. Lots of pain. I was walking and nicked an outdoor table, I tripped over a water hose, both times causing such pain. So watching these guys run around, not sure I’ll ever be able to do that again. Everything I once knew is the old me. This is me now, hobbling around hoping to avoid any hurdles, literal and figurative.
I’m hoping the medicine, and time, will bring the suffering down to an acceptable level but I’m not sure. I’m so dramatic, huh? It’s not like the doctors are professionals and know how to handle stuff like this. Or am I the first person to ever have this problem!? Nope. Just another guy in a long line of aging men with knee pain.
But goodness gracious, I want to get back to running, working out, playing softball. Maybe tomorrow I’ll notice an improvement. Or maybe never.
Things are black and white with Dr. Pepper. Binary. Unlike some fans who like both college AND professional football (which is becoming a blurry gray area anyway), a family from Fansville makes a wrong turn and ends up in Pro Town. They react like that one time I took the wrong exit and ended up in downtown Cincinnati. Or the time I missed my subway stop in New York City and the next stop was the Bronx… AT NIGHT. 👀
Here’s the Dr. Pepper commercial with an appearance from Pro Town resident, Jerry Jones. I think it’s safe to say the Dr. Pepper curse is over, especially now that there’s a surprise curse this 2025 season…
Dr. Pepper is putting all their eggs in one basket– college football. My dad would appreciate that. He likes college football a lot and doesn’t watch NFL unless it just happens to be on when someone else is watching it. I think his disinterest goes back to the Michael Vick dog fighting saga which we won’t get into in today’s post. We love dogs, don’t we? They’re the best!
Back to the commercial… there isn’t anything specific in the ad about how Dr. Pepper is made or what’s in it. That would be boring and might actually turn people away from soda altogether. What Dr. Pepper is selling is a soda that’s cool, connected, and fun. How many fake towns have their own Wikipedia page, right? Fansville is Wikipedia-level successful. Plus, the commercial is funny (and if all else fails, make it funny). Case in point: Insurance commercials. There isn’t anything more boring than insurance but an ad about deductibles would put viewers to sleep so that’s why most, if not all of them, use humor to keep our attention.
Dr. Pepper goes this route in their Fansville campaign and it’s working. Do you have a favorite Fansville episode? Chime in below…
Airing during NFL football, Pampers has a minute-long commercial that drew me right from the first newborn on screen. But it wasn’t the visuals, as cute as babies can be, that captured my attention. It was the song. Check it out then scroll down for more…
The Song. The song playing as the soundtrack is a familiar one but as a cover from Stephen Wilson, Jr. Here’s the live performance of “Stand By Me” from 2024.
For the Kids. Music is awesome, isn’t it? Every once in a while a song, or a cover song, comes along that stops us in our tracks. This Publix commercial is kind of like that. So I totally get it if you’re here for the music. But if those cute babies were tugging on your heartstrings, you should check out my children’s books, I bet you’ll love them, too. 💙
If you’ve been following Out of the Wilderness for awhile, you’re probably aware I like to write about commercials. Let’s face it, we watch more of commercial content than any program we ever watch! A guy I used to work in television with once said that all we make (as TV show producers) is a vehicle for advertisements. That blew my mind because I’d never thought of it that way and he was right. Ads pay for the programs we like. So then it makes sense that some of those ads are incredibly creative, funny, inspiring, or memorable. It’s how brands can stand out when our attention is constantly being competed for. Not all commercials hit the mark, though. I’m thinking of this confusing one from Sprite and this ironic one from Buick, for instance. But then one comes along that reminds us how great commercials can be. Nike. Known for their top athletic brand status and their slogan “Just Do It”… they’ve released a new ad and if it doesn’t make your heart beat even just a little faster, you’re the problem. OK, I’m kidding, you’re awesome! The commercial is awesome, too.
The commercial shows people doing fun things like head balling, no-leg kneeling, orange gun holding, ocean hovering, ball kicking, sand blasting, crowd surfing, blanket flying, and women’s basketball. Most of it is in slow motion, which elevates the moment to something epic, even if it’s not that epic. Slow motion makes everything better, doesn’t it? Except when you’re waiting at the doc’s office.
There have been a few Nike commercials I didn’t like. This new one, though goes in the other category. I love it. Sports are amazing for a lot of reasons. The ad captures the idea that the reason we compete is to take a chance that we might win. We might surprise ourselves.
You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
I think it’s in the human design to strive. Move upwards. Be better… even if it just means better than you were yesterday. There’s a verse in a song from the 90s and it goes like this…
Don’t waste your time on jealousy Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind The race is long and in the end, it’s only with yourself.
I love sports and winning is a really good feeling. But also keep in mind something that I have experienced time and time again. There’s a lot of learning in the losses. Winning isn’t everything and more important than everything is how we treat people during the journey, whether it’s an opponent, an official, a fan, a friend, a family member… and to steal another line from that song…
If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
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Less than a year ago I had an embarrassing (but more heroic every time I tell the story 🤔) crash during a sprint triathlon. It led to a trip to the local ER. Fast forward 11 months and I’m back, baby! Not in the same city as the bike crash and thankfully, not in an ER either. It’s a Friday so walk-in clinics are open for business and this “injury” is more like “just Ben getting old.” It was a visit to a local orthopedic clinic with extreme pain in my right knee after accomplishing extraordinary athletic endeavors… and yes, that is sarcasm which can translate to playing adult league slow-pitch softball. But the pain was elite! Like, I can barely even press the gas or brake pedals in my truck.
Going to the doctor to find out, once again, that I’m old is not very entertaining. I didn’t tear anything, break anything, twist anything. I just don’t have much cartilage left in my knees. Plus inflammation. But there was a highlight in the waiting room. Around 60 people hanging around, chatting, checking their phones, listening for their name to be called. A flamboyant man walked through, and stopped in front of the elevator doors. He turned around to us, the waiting patients, and asked if we could all see him… in a very judgemental tone. He then said good, we could type it into our phones. As the elevator doors closed he went on about something and the rest of us were left there wondering what just happened. In our current culture, this might sound like something dangerous was amiss. But this guy, how do I say it… he was a flaming homosexual.
I would’ve brought a book if I knew I’d be waiting for over an hour but I ended up starting a free trial of Kindle I’ll have to cancel later. There goes my attempt at less screen time!
To summarize: Old. Arthritis. Kindle. Gay.
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Out of the Wilderness 