Hyundai Has Knight Rider Fans Split In New Commercial

Hyundai uses nostalgia to advertise a new way to buy one of their vehicles. Guess where? Amazon! What CAN’T you buy there, right? Check out the ad then scroll down for more…

Is the Santa Fe (the vehicle in the ad) as cool as KITT? That’s a trick question, actually. Nothing is as cool as KITT.

I read through the comments on YouTube and people seem to be split on the use of the well-known “Knight Rider” theme song to advertise a car that’s not a Pontiac Trans Am. Some like the throwbacks to all things 80s (Care Bears, GI Joe, etc) while others don’t see the connection between stuff they grew up with and Hyundai. But I think they’d all agree that that song is, and always will be, iconic. As will the Trans Am with the red beam moving back and forth on the front end. By the way, where were you when you found out the voice of KITT was Mr. Feeny from “Boy Meets World”?

-Out of the Wilderness

Fluke Snow in Florida…

The little kid in me had been hoping for days that what they were saying about snow in Florida was going to be true. Could it really happen? Snow in Florida? And not just flurries, but inches of snow!? The adult in me, though, kept spoiling the party; telling me it’s just a fluke, it’s going to be a dud, stop hoping for good things…

Well, yippee ki-yay… adult me was wrong! Fluke Skywalker showed up in Florida this week in the form of the once-in-a-lifetime snowfall you’ve probably been seeing all over Facebook, Instagram, and the news. I hadn’t seen snow since I left Nashville and I think they’re saying north Florida hasn’t had snow like this in over 100 years. That’s crazy!

Naturally, I took a few obligatory photos and then put my phone down to have a little fun. Only in Florida will you see someone slide down a hill on a toucan pool float. Good times!

-Out of the Wilderness

The Volkswagen Van Commercial – Are You Having Any Fun?

I couldn’t decide which commercial to write about first: Volkswagen or Expedia. But Expedia was about Nashville so I went with that one. That just means that today’s post is about Volkswagen. Good things come to those who wait, and a good thing is on the way now… here’s the VW ad featuring a song from nearly 75 years ago.

The Song. It was also used in a Google Pixel phone commercial (check it out here), a song called “Are You Having Any Fun?” by Elaine Stritch.

The Split Screen. The commercial is so well-made. Highlighting the two-tone paint offerings of the van, each scene in the ad is cut in half with color. Basically your television or phone or whatever you’re watching on has a color on the top half of the screen and another color on the bottom half… just like the VW. That surely takes some planning when you’re shooting in so many different locations. I love that aspect of the ad!

Are we having any fun? Well, not if we look at the details of the ID. Buzz. No fun at all. Buying one will set you back nearly $70,000 and on top of that, the electric range is going to get you to the next town over and back… but don’t be a goofball and try taking this thing cross country. The ad gets an A but the actual product, C+ at best. They look good and that’s about where it all ends.

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-Out of the Wilderness

The Expedia Nashville Commercial – The Music and More!

Anyone can boot-scootin’ boogie in Nashville and that sentiment shuffles on in a commercial from Expedia that’s been airing and streaming lately, although the ad is about a year old. Take a look then scroll down for the name of the song and more… and if you like what you read today, I’d love a little help to continue posting at 1pm central. Consider a small donation before you leave!

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OK, they call the ad “Two Step” but she was scootin’ her boots, right? Atta girl! I haven’t line danced in ages but I remember it being fun. I’m more into contra dancing these days. Perhaps on their next trip, these dancers can stop by any town in America for a little bit of swinging, promenading, and right shoulder rounds (all dance moves included in various contra dance choreography)! But the music… they don’t make it like they used to, do they? This song is from over 50 years ago… 1967, to be exact. Here’s the full track of Tammy Wynette’s “Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad”…

The main actresses in the ad are from Japan and it’s stated in a behind-the-scenes video that this was their first trip to the U.S. I’d say Nashville was a great place to experience the country for the first time. Hope they danced till the cows came home. Come on back now, ya hear?

-Out of the Wilderness

The New WordPress Layout Is So Frustrating…

I can’t remember the last time I wrote a blog post about my blog posts but I guess today marks the first one for 2025. I logged on this morning to start writing and finally admitted to myself out loud (and to the WordPress chat agent) how much I dislike the layout of their admin page…

Maybe I’m just old. Maybe I’m doing something wrong. If that’s the case please let me know, but everything I tried yielded no solutions! The previous layout, what WordPress calls the “classic version,” was so much better and I want it back so badly. This frustration is occupying more of my mental bandwidth than is healthy, I’m sure. WordPress, if you’re reading this: Please fix it! For my health!!

Sometimes I don’t like change. Maybe most of the time. But you have to admit the new layout is a bit bungle some right? Chaotic. Messy. Busy. Less calm. Terrible.

Why can’t certain things just be left alone, you know? Not everything has be upgraded, modified, added to. Some things are great and shouldn’t be touched. Like a movie that is simply perfect but then someone comes along and makes a sequel or turns an animated movie into live-action.

So, folks, today’s post is about today’s post host. WordPress. Stop being goofballs and change it back to how it was before!

-Out of the Wilderness