You know, after seeing Kmart’s Draftfcb-created Ship My Pants and, to a lesser degree, Big Gas Savings, you wonder what the agency could possibly come up with next that would be even remotely interesting. Well, George Parker be damned, the agency has delivered again with Show Your Joe, a co-branded effort with Joe Boxer.
In a ad, six men dressed in a tux on top and boxers on the bottom perform jungle belles with, yes, their junk. And this is how we sell underwear in 2013. Your grandmother will be horrified!
Though, perhaps, it’s not only your grandmother. While it would appear most find the ad humorous (if the YouTube Like/Dislike ratio is any indication), not everyone is joyous for the junk.
On Facebook commenter, Joshua Michael, wrote, “Maybe it’s just me (though I know it’s not) but it seems that the sole goal of Kmart’s PR department is to put the company out of business. I wish I could say I won’t shop at your stores anymore because of your #showyourjoe ad, I really can’t because I haven’t shopped there in over a year and never will.”
To which Kmart replied, “Hi Joshua – Thanks for your comment. We regret if it was seen as offensive; that was not our intent.”
Now we could go into a whole diatribe on the not so insignificant differences between “regret” and “sorry” but that’s been done so many times before, we aren’t going to bother. Suffice to say. this work won’t likely face backlash. However, it it were six women spinning jingle bells from atop their lingerie-clad boobs, that would be another story entirely. Reverse standard? Double reverse standard?
But complaints aside, the ad is funny. Why? Because we say it is, that’s why. Now go to Kmart and buy some Boxers.
