Kmart's 'Jingle Bells' Joe Boxer Commercial Controversy Explained
In 2013, Kmart released a humorous ad revealing that bells are not the only thing that jingle and jangle during the holiday season. Titled "Show Your Joe," the commercial starts with a line of men in tuxedos playing the song "Silent Night" on handbells. The tune — and their instruments — makes a drastic change when the table in front of them is removed, revealing that, under the belt, they're each only wearing a pair of festive Joe Boxer underwear. From there, they move their hips one by one, seemingly using a different pair of "bells" to play the song "Jingle Bells."
The implication of men's testicles being able to play the holly jolly number was an attention grabber from the jump. The official clip currently has around 19 million views on YouTube, and it brought a significant business boost to Kmart the year it was released, with some locations even selling out of the product. But not everyone placed the ad on their nice list.
Kmart's social media received its fair share of negative comments toward the piece while groups such as One Million Moms also became vocal over the matter. Parents Television Council director Melissa Henson shared her sentiments with HuffPost, saying, "Kmart is one of those stores that has traditionally been considered a family brand ... The backlash can be pretty bad. The brand has been suffering and may have a hard time recovering from this if they alienate a lot of customers."
However, viewers may have been looking in the wrong place to find controversy within the commercial.
Did Kmart rip off its commercial from a similar concept?
Kmart's "Show Your Joe" commercial may not have achieved the longevity of Christmas commercials from the likes of Corona or M&M's, but it succeeded in just what the company had hoped for in creating a buzz. But while many viewers argued over its content, others noticed its striking resemblance to a similar performance.
In 2010, the Las Vegas-based male revue the Chippendales performed a similar act. Lined up before a conductor, five buff guys pull down their pants to reveal their festive red underwear. Just like the subjects of the Kmart ad, the group is guided to shake their jingle bells to play the song before walking offstage. Sure, the Chippendales probably didn't invent the comical concept, but the fact that "Show Your Joe" was released only three years after a recording of the Chippendales performance popped up online does make for an odd coincidence.
As for Kmart's viral sensation, the company followed it up the next year with "Jingle Bellies." As its name implies, the commercial sees the men use their stomachs to play the song instead, this time wearing Joe Boxer pajamas. Before you can call out course correction, however, the ad ends with the central performer getting pantsed and seemingly ringing the final notes with his testicles, making for a cheeky jab at the Scrooges from the previous year.