Lincoln: Matthew McConaughey Chills Out And Goes Ice Fishing

Lincoln’s ongoing commercials with Matthew McConaughey have been a quiet constant during much of the 2010s, so why not end the decade by writing about the newest one? Matthew McConaughey arrives on a frozen lake. He’s come for some ice fishing. But ice fishing is a slow pursuit, so in the meantime he goes for a warm escape in his 2020 Lincoln Aviator. When Matthew finally gets something, he celebrates by whistling the Andy Griffith theme. Cool stuff from a cool guy.

Taco Bell Shows A Dramatic Fight Over The Last Nacho

When there’s only one left of a food item, it can be awkward to determine who gets the last one. That’s what happens to this group of friends and/or roommates quarreling over the last nacho. They have a wild, slapstick brawl which spills out of their own (quite nice looking) apartment and literally breaks though the wall of their neighbor. Whoops. But now finally, Taco Bell has nachos you don’t have to fight over with their Nachos Party Pack. The song playing is “Let’s Get Together” sung by Hayley Mills in The Parent Trap.

AT&T Says “Just OK Is Not OK” In An Elevator

AT&T’s yearlong “Just OK Is Not OK” campaign continues with this new set of ads. In one, an elevator doesn’t quite get out where it’s supposed to and a chatty guy talking about people getting stuck in elevators in the movies doesn’t help matters. Just OK doesn’t work when you’re skydiving. A sketchy tax “professional” who’s getting audited, takes a lot of trips to the Cayman Islands on his yacht “Offshore Accounts” and changed his name to Dennis Celery (he was Phil, but Phil is now legally dead after falling off a boat)? Not OK. By the way, Dennis Celery is played by Bob Stephenson (not Jim O’Heir as previously written). And finally, a wedding with a cringe-inducing pause before “I do” is not OK. I’ll add some more actor/actress info to this post when I find it.

1/13 update: The Cayman Islands objected to this commercial, and subsequent edits just referred to “islands” instead of The Caymans.

 

 

The Song From Mazda’s CX-30 Commercial

It’s an interesting ad featuring a couple who decide to start a restaurant. The spot follows their journey from preparations to opening their eatery. This adventure, of course, is made in a Maxda CX-30. It’s probably no surprise that the ad would debut now, as it has a very “New Year’s resolution” feel. So what’s the song? It’s “This Is Our Time” by WILD. Anyone know who play the couple?

Citi: This Woman Builds A Snowman Family

Citi’s commercial is super sentimental and pretty cheesy, but also kinda nice. A woman buys a scarf and carrots with her Citi Rewards card. Why you ask? Well, she’s building a snowman family to surprise her husband. And there’s a little one, because she’s expecting. Surprise! Aww. The song is a lovely cover of Bright Eyes’“First Day of My Life”, performed by Jillian Edwards.

 

Geico’s Raccoons Steal A Garbage Truck And Run A Food Truck

Geico is now running a campaign where they’ve created sequels to some of their more popular commercials, and you can vote for your favorite. So far, they have spots featuring Pinocchio and woodchucks (more on those later), but my early favorite stars the raccoons. In one, the raccoons live out a (presumed) raccoon dream, and jack a garbage truck. Except they don’t really know how to drive it, and they drop some precious cargo, like half a cheesesteak. Luckily, the cheesesteak is recovered. The raccoons also jump on the hipster foodie trend and start a food truck called “Chez Dumpster.” Trashy back ribs and melon rind stew…yum!

Milk-Bone Says Life’s More Fun With A Dog…Especially At A Wedding

If you’re a cat lover like me, you might object to the “dogs are better than cats” message of this Milk-Bone ad. But if you’re going to use a furry friend as the ring bearer at your wedding, it’s likely that an obedient dog is a better choice than an independent-minded, tree-climbing cat. They’re both very cute though. Joe Gabler plays the groom…anyone know who plays the bride?

Wonderful Pistachios Upset Sheldon The Tortoise

In a meeting, these Wonderful Pistachios executives try to explain to an upset Sheldon that “ditch the shells” just refers to the pistachios. Sheldon isn’t convinced though, and flings the shell-less nuts at the higher-ups. Now they look upset. Maybe Sheldon can be appeased with some arugula? Haha.

Drink Some Folgers Coffee After Accidentally Walking In On Your Father-In-Law In The Shower

The Folgers Christmas/holiday commercial that evokes memories for me and so many others is the one where Peter comes home. Folgers has done just a slight pivot away from that heartwarming/cheesy sentiment in this new spot, and goes for humor instead. You have to be more careful when you think you’re surprising your husband in the shower. It might be your father-in-law Steve. The worst part is that you just just started calling him Dad…eek. But you can all hash out the awkwardness with a nice cup of Folgers. The best part of waking up, right? It’s amusing and a fun song to boot.

 

The Woman From That Peloton Commercial Is Now In An Amusing Ad For Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation Gin

When I wrote about that stupid Peloton commercial about two weeks ago, I didn’t know that it would become the talk of the ad world and a major news story. To me, it was just a dumb and cringey ad. But we all know what’s happened since, and now Ryan Reynolds-owned Aviation Gin has made this clever spot to offer that poor woman (Monica Ruiz) a bit of redemption. She needs and deserves a big drink, and she sure guzzles down that smooth Aviation Gin. To new beginnings! Haha.