So am I supposed to ship or shi* my pants. I’m not completely clear. Either way, this ad is hilarious. And going viral. For example, I’ve had two different people text it to me in the last hour in addition to all of the online shares I’ve seen.
But despite the hype, is Ship Your Pants a one time headline grabber or a game changer like what Old Spice experienced a few years ago?
Kmart has been tittering on the brink of oblivion for a long time now. Wal-mart dominates physical retail and Amazon is the 400 pound gorilla online. Though recently, the two worlds have begun merging as each tries to invade the other’s space. Wal-mart has put together a strong e-commerce team and Amazon has added more staples such as diapers and is trying to shorten the delivery time of products.
So where does Kmart fit in?
Although I always love jokes about old people shipping their pants, free shipping isn’t anything new. It’s the minimum. Worse still, Kmart.com only offers free shipping on orders over $59 and on eligible items sold by Kmart. Where’s the differentiation? The competitive advantage?
There is none. Sorry Kmart, I’m not sure anyone would buy you even if on blue light special.
So well done on an amazing commercial, but from a corporate strategy perspective, this is just screaming, “Me too!!” about five years too late.
UPDATE: Website OneMillionMoms.com isn’t too happy about this ad. They are asking moms to protest the viral ad. If enough moms don’t think so, then Kmart may have misstepped with this ad. Personally, I think it’s just funny and resonates with enough people that the filth-sayers will largely be ineffective.