WASHINGTON – Kmart’s newest Christmas commercial is getting some people’s panties in a twist.
The ad, which debuted on YouTube and on TV this week, shows six underwear-clad men squatting, shaking and thrusting their rears to the tune of “Jingle Bells.”
The “Show Your Joe” commercial aims to encourage shoppers to “ring in the holidays this year with Joe Boxer from Kmart,” according to the YouTube post.
Criticism of the commercial has erupted online.
“Just proves how tasteless Kmart is,” one person posted below the YouTube video.
“JUST DISGUSTING, KMART!!!! AND INAPPROPRIATE FOR A CHRISTIAN HOLIDAY,” another person wrote on Kmart’s Facebook page.
“Wow imagine this commercial playing while the kids are watching a Charlie Brown Christmas or Frosty the Snowman. Inappropriate for kids!!!” another person posted on Facebook.
Others defended the commercial saying it is appropriate and funny.
“Me and my family saw this last night and we lost it when we saw this. I haven’t heard my parents laugh that hard in awhile,” one person wrote on YouTube.
“Marketing magnificence! What’s wrong with shaking your hips to a song (wink wink)? I don’t buy boxers, but if I needed to, I’d think of Joe Boxer,” a woman wrote on Kmart’s Facebook page.
Watch the full ad below:
This isn’t Kmart’s first ad that enraged viewers. In April, they released the tongue-in-cheek “Ship My Pants” ad, followed by their “Big Gas Savings” commercial in May.
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