It was 2013. The internet wasn't quite the hellscape of short-form vertical video it is now. Back then, a viral hit felt like a genuine lightning strike. Suddenly, everyone was talking about a 35-second spot from a retailer most people had already written off as a "grandma store."
The Kmart ship my pants commercial didn't just go viral; it became a cultural shorthand for the "risky" pivot. It was juvenile. It was sophomoric. And honestly? It was exactly what the brand needed to remind the world it still existed.
The Ad That Sounded Like a Swear Word
If you haven't seen it in a decade, the premise is simple. A Kmart associate tells a customer that if they can't find their size in-store, they can "ship their pants" for free. Then comes the parade of customers—an old man, a young kid, a middle-aged woman—all enthusiastically declaring they just "shipped their pants."
Say it fast. You get the joke.
Created by the agency Draftfcb Chicago (now FCB), the ad was a masterclass in the double entendre. It was a risky bet for a brand owned by Sears Holdings, a company that was, at the time, circling the drain of retail irrelevance. They had a massive problem: people thought Kmart was dusty and out of stock. By leaning into the "out of stock" frustration and offering a digital-first solution, they turned a weakness into a punchline.
💡 You might also like: Mississippi Taxpayer Access Point: How to Use TAP Without the Headache
Why it Actually Worked (Business-Wise)
Most people remember the giggle, but the metrics were actually insane. We aren't just talking about a few million views.
- Social Dominance: Within just eight days of its April 2013 release, the ad hit 15 million views on YouTube. By the end of the year, it surpassed 30 million.
- The "Earned Media" Jackpot: Kmart didn't spend a Super Bowl-sized fortune to air this. It started as a digital-only play. According to reports from the 2014 ARF David Ogilvy Awards, the campaign generated social impressions valued at nearly $4 million—roughly 49% more value than a 2013 Super Bowl spot.
- The Sales Bump: While it didn't save Kmart in the long run (we know how that story ends), it did achieve its immediate goal. Kmart set a target of $1 million in "Store-to-Home" sales per month. They hit it.
The ad succeeded because it didn't feel like a corporate mandate. It felt like someone in the marketing department had finally stopped caring about "brand standards" and started caring about being noticed.
The Controversy: One Million Moms vs. The Internet
You can't have a viral hit without a little outrage. The group One Million Moms famously targeted the ad, calling it "filth" and "disgusting." They claimed it was inappropriate for children and demanded it be pulled from the air.
Kmart’s response? They basically doubled down.
📖 Related: 60 Pounds to USD: Why the Rate You See Isn't Always the Rate You Get
They followed up with "Big Gas Savings" and "Show Your Joe" (the one with the guys ringing bells in their boxers). They leaned into the "racy" reputation because, for the first time in years, people were actually looking at Kmart. The "Ship My Pants" campaign had a 24:1 favorability rating on YouTube. For a brand that was usually the butt of the joke, being the one telling the joke was a massive upgrade.
The Strategy Behind the Silliness
The brilliance of Kmart ship my pants wasn't just the pun. It was the casting and the lack of music. By keeping the background quiet and the delivery "deadpan," the words took center stage.
It used what ad experts call "sleight of mouth." It played with the "New America"—a demographic that was younger, digitally savvy, and bored with traditional retail ads. The VP of Kmart at the time, Andrew Stein, even launched the ad on his personal YouTube account first to gauge the reaction. That kind of "guerrilla" approach from a major retailer was unheard of in 2013.
What Really Happened to the Agency?
Despite the awards—including five Cannes Lions—the relationship between the agency and the retailer didn't last forever. By 2015, Sears Holdings moved on from FCB Chicago. The agency leaders at the time, Michael Fassnacht and Todd Tilford, noted in a memo that they could now focus on "fiscally healthy" retailers.
👉 See also: Manufacturing Companies CFO Challenges: Why the Old Playbook is Failing
Ouch.
The reality is that great advertising can't always fix a broken business model. Kmart had deep-seated supply chain issues and a physical footprint that was crumbling. But for one brief moment in 2013, "ship my pants" made Kmart the coolest kid in the room.
What You Can Learn From This
If you're looking to capture even a fraction of that 2013 magic for your own brand or project, the "Ship My Pants" strategy offers a few timeless lessons:
- Stop Playing it Safe: If your brand is perceived as "boring" or "old," a safe ad will only confirm that suspicion. You have to be willing to offend a small, vocal minority (like the "Moms" group) to delight your actual target audience.
- Product First, Joke Second: The joke only worked because it was literally the name of the service: shipping. If the pun didn't lead directly to the value proposition, it would have just been a fart joke.
- The "Silent" Launch: Don't dump your entire budget into TV upfront. Use social platforms to test if your humor actually lands. If it goes viral for free, then you spend the big bucks to amplify it.
- Embrace Your Flaws: Kmart knew their stores were often out of stock. Instead of lying about it, they created a solution and made it the centerpiece of their most famous campaign.
The legacy of the Kmart ship my pants ad is a reminder that in marketing, the greatest risk isn't being "gross"—it's being forgotten. Kmart might be a ghost of its former self today, but that 35-second clip is immortal.
Next Steps for Your Research:
- Watch the original "Ship My Pants" spot alongside the "Big Gas Savings" follow-up to see how they maintained the tone.
- Look into the FCB Chicago portfolio from 2013-2015 to see how this specific "edgy" style influenced other retail brands during the mid-2010s.
- Analyze your own brand's "weakest" point (like Kmart's out-of-stocks) and brainstorm how a self-deprecating or humorous angle could flip the narrative.