A PAIR OF JINGLE BELLS
I’m amazed by all of the controversy surrounding Kmart’s Joe Boxer ad. The responses have ranged from humorously entertaining to morally offensive and disgusting. While I can understand liking or not liking the ad, I’m not sure that it deserves the drastic response it has received from some people. One thing for sure is that the days when the holidays were announced by Santa gliding over drifts of snow on a Norelco shaver are long gone
If you haven’t seen this ad, it features six men, wearing tuxedo tops and holiday boxer shorts from Joe Boxer, shaking there hips like a bell choir to the tune of “Jingle Bells.” Personally I found the ad to be extremely cleaver and humorous. The ad only “works” because the men are in boxers. That gives the illusion of “bells” and adds to the element of fun. The ad would have had a very different feel if the men were wearing briefs, and would have taken things to a whole different area. But as it is, the boxers keep it light and fun, unlike their “I Shipped My Pants” ads which I find to be bit sophomoric and crass.
The other thing worth mentioning is that the ad succeeds in what companies want ads to do. It gets people talking and they remember it, which keeps the product in the front of everyone’s mind. Even hearing the song “Jingle Bells” will bring to mind this image and the product. So, for good or bad, the ad worked and people remember both Kmart and Joe Boxer.
Whether you like their Joe Boxer ad or not, Kmart has definitely moved towards the naughty list, but I feel they’ve done so without becoming profane or crass. There is still a bit of fun here.
For those of you who may not like Kmart’s version of “Jingle Bells,” here is one of my all time favorite ads from Brooks Brothers (yes I know I post this every year), with their version of the song.
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