‘DADDY CLAUS’: Target customers hungry for new ads featuring silver fox Santa
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Things are getting red-hot in Target this Christmas.
The retailer has a new campaign for the holidays featuring Santa Claus, a.k.a. Kris Kringle, as an employee at the department store.
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However, this isn’t your standard mall Santa.
Rather, this version is played by actor Brent Bailey, who you may recognize from The Lincoln Lawyer or as one of Anne Hathaway’s wannabe suitors in The Idea of You (before she realizes the 20something boy band member could be the one for her).
He’s younger, fitter, and more silver than white.
In a nutshell, he puts the “slay” in “sleigh.”
The first commercial, “Born to Be Kris,” is set to Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild” as the man himself leaves his North Pole home to head to a Target store — in an open red truck he drives himself as two reindeer look on.
Once he arrives, Kris K. gets out of the truck, adjusts his Target name tag fixed to his sexy red knit sweater and walks toward the store.
“Meet Kris, our newest Target Team Member,” the store wrote in the caption of the YouTube video.
“He loves the holidays as much as the next guy,” it continues. “Actually, way more than the next guy. Actually, way more than anyone we know. Actually, more than anyone anyone knows. But hey, that’s not important. What is, is that shiny red Bronco and perfectly coiffed beard.”
The retailer noted: “So, does his last name rhyme with jingle, you ask? HR won’t let us say. But what we can say is we’re so excited to welcome him to the team this season.”
In another commercial, titled “He’s Hot, But These Target Turkey Deals Are Hotter,” Kris convinces a shopper to take advantage of the store’s deals on turkey, though not before challenging her on not believing in Santa.
Once he leave, she says to her friend on the phone, “Sarah, did you hear that? It was Santa Claus and he’s, like, weirdly hot.”
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Another ad, “Kris from Target,” shows jolly not-so-old St. Nick showing off his muscles.
“They’re called tree-cep curls, Molly,” before he almost inadvertently reveals his true identity.
Social media users are loving it.
One person noted: “Target has the hottest Santa I’ve ever seen in these commercials,” while a second called him “Daddy Claus.”
Another joked, “No wonder that kid caught mommy kissing Santa.”
Target’s chief marketing officer Lisa Roath told Adweek that the company wanted Santa depicted as “joyful, helpful, optimistic — characteristics that embody the brand.”
She added: “He has that witty edge, and he’s roguishly handsome. He represents our incredible team members, who are the heroes during the holidays and beyond.”
The outlet added that there will be nine commercials for fans of sexy St. Nick to look forward to.
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