Dancing Joe Boxer ad has amusing pregnant pause

You've gotta give Joe Boxer credit for one thing this holiday: belly laughs.

Just a few weeks ago, Kmart's exclusive underwear and PJ line, rolled out its first holiday ad featuring a lineup of dudes — dressed in PJ bottoms — pounding their bare bellies to the song Jingle Bells.

On Dec. 1, the chain will debut its second holiday spot online — this time focusing on the bellies of five pregnant dancers.

For Kmart, it's all about serving up eye candy that it hopes will translate into a social media campaign that goes viral. That, of course, is what happened last when it rolled out its instant-classic Joe Boxer spot featuring five hunks — dressed in boxer shorts — shaking their hips to the Jingle Bells tune. The ad made it look as if the ringer of the bells was actually from the swinging of their male organs. And it generated more than 18 million YouTube views.

But building on last year's social media isn't simple, says ad consultant Allison Cohen, "because the initial surprise is gone."

Sure, this holiday, things have tamed down a bit. But once again, the ad does have a visual surprise.

When the commercial begins, the five female dancers all have their backs to the camera. Once the dancing begins, to the song Santa Baby, there's still not a clue that the women all are pregnant — until they turn sideways. Then, the dancing gals in their PJs kick into an even higher gear.

For Kmart, it's about bringing more women — who purchase most of the PJs anyways — into the Joe Boxer camp. "We sell a lot of women's PJs this time of year," says Diane Vaccaro, chief marketing officer for Kmart Apparel. "We needed a 'reveal' that could extend the story from the men's line."

But the casting wasn't simple.

Typically, dancers who are pregnant can't find much commercial work. Locating pregnant dancers wasn't simple. And since the women needed to appear "really pregnant," says Vaccaro, all of them were in their last trimester. So, besides the five women actually in the commercial, the company cast two more pregnant women — who learned all of the dance moves — just in case any of the others gave birth before the filming was complete.

Since the spot was filmed last month, at least one has given birth, and most of them are expected to have their children by Christmas, says Vaccaro.

As for the babies, well, there's no official word yet from Kmart officials if they'll star in next year's holiday spot.