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
Toyota is just knocking it out of the park this holiday season with their “Super Mom” ad, “Mailbox” ad, and the one inspiring this blog post… “The Journey.” Take a look…
This is an original song by singer Stacy Walker. The song is called “Here for You” with the lyrics:
“Take my hand, little one. Take my hand, you won’t be little forever. You won’t be little forever.
Slow on down, little child. Slow on down. I want to always remember. Always remember.
I’ll always be here. I’ll always be here for you.”
It was also produced in Spanish. The double up of ads (English/Spanish) were created by Conill Advertising, headquartered in Miami, Florida. Here is the Spanish version…
Advertised is a Toyota RAV4. License plate reads WJK 819 on the All Wheel Drive vehicle.
Here’s the full song by Stacy Walker, which you can stream on Spotify here.
You may be wondering, as I did, “Who is this beautiful woman in the Clear Eyes commercial?” They’ve come along way since this…
No offense, Ben Stein 🙂
Back to the woman… she’s supermodel Hilary Rhoda. She has had a long relationship with Estée Lauder, so you may recognize her from ads like this from the early 2010s:
From one of Hilary’s tweets, it appears her deal with Clear Eyes began in October 2020.
You can find Hilary on Twitter here and Instagram here.
I was watching the winter finale of Big Sky last night and a particular song came on that I immediately liked. I won’t go into detail about the show, because I’ve already done that, except to say I hope it’s coming back in 2021. Ratings are not through the roof, but I’ve got my fingers crossed.
[If you’re looking for the music from the February 2021 finale, click here]
If you’re wondering who’s singing the song in Toyota’s “Super Mom” TV commercial… well, I was, too. My curiosity is what lead to this very post. Here’s the ad.
Does that voice sound familiar? Some suggested Alicia Keys or Lisa Mills, and I also thought of Jennifer Hudson. I searched, then I searched some more. I came across a group called The Soul Keys.
I think their sound is close but not quite a match… but SO close, right? More research lead me to find out the music was composed by a production company called Future Perfect. Here is a screenshot of some of the credits from the TV ad.
So while a specific singer isn’t listed, at least we know it was an original composition of the song written by Jamison Roosevelt back in the mid-1960s. If I find out more info, I will update this post ASAP! For more of the credits, click here.
I know you’re probably all here to find out what song is in the ad and I don’t blame you one bit. It’s a cozy song, and you might not believe in a current ad they’d use a song that’s 10 years old, but that’s exactly what happened in Toyota’s “Mailbox” commercial. Take a look:
The song is called “Come Home” by Amatorski from their EP Same Stars We Shared. They’re a Belgian band with a couple of albums and TV/Film soundtrack credits to brag about. Check out their website here.
Back to the Toyota ad… there’s lots of glitter. Like, LOTS of glitter. The little girl, who’s adorable by the way, is making cards for an unknown recipient but with every letter she sends there is nothing received in return. Blasted Post Office!! The letters probably won’t turn up for years.
OK, I spoke too soon. Please forgive me, Post Office. The little girl’s letters actually DID make it to their destination (which we learn is her dad, who is deployed). All her glittery masterpieces are hanging ornament-style on a tree by the mailbox and then her dad emerges from a snowy hideout. It’s a Christmas miracle.
The daughter is played by actress Amari McCoy. The dad is played by Percy Daggs, III, who you might definitely recognize from the Veronica Mars series. The ad was created by media agency Saatchi & Saatchi, who also created this ad for the Toyota Venza.
Toyota shows off two of their vehicles in this ad. The mom and daughter are in a 2021 HighlanderHybrid (MSRP $50,004). Dad appears with a 2021 Tacoma (MSRP $41,810) behind him.
Shell out $91,814 and stock up on glitter and you can make your own Toyota ad this holiday season. But it won’t be as heartwarming or charming as this one. Great job to everyone involved!
Out of the Wilderness 