Did You "Ship" Your Pants Yet?

Kmart gets creative and uses a play on words in its latest advertising/social media campaign. “Ship my pants” is the phrase featured and whether you view it as a smart business strategy or desperate and juvenile, Kmart accomplished exactly what it wanted. The video is promoting a free delivery program offered by Kmart. The video shows various customers in the store who happily exclaim they just “shipped” their pants. At first listen, this sounds an awful lot like a much more disgusting activity. If Kmart had simply stated that it now offers free shipping for products not available in store, the buzz and media attention would be non-existent for a brand desperately needing attention. As of April 16, the YouTube video has over 9.5 million views.  It has been featured on the Today Show, Forbes.com, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. Twitter chatter has been non-stop. It is safe to say the video has gone completely viral despite it promoting a feature a majority of Kmart’s competition already offers. Amidst the negative comments saying the strategy is “childish” or “uncalled for,” the video tiptoes the line and has brought an overwhelming response for a company that has not taken an edgy approach before. Love it or hate it, Kmart is swimming in attention.