Target is heating up the holidays with their newest team member that’s making the internet swoon: a sexy Santa Claus.
The retail giant last month began distributing less-than-traditional Christmas ads featuring their new employee, Kris K., who is certainly not the chubby and jolly Santa Claus known around the world.
Instead, this Santa has a more modern and rugged look – and has clearly hit the gym to get off the milk and cookies.
Target this year canceled holiday ads with titles like “Born to Be Kris” and “He’s Hot, But These Turkey Deals Are Hotter.”
The ‘He’s Hot’ commercial – which has been viewed more than seven million times on YouTube – featured the silver fox in khaki pants and a tight-fitting red quarter-zip sweater that showed off his physique.
In the 15-second ad, Kris. K approached a Target customer while happily talking to a friend on the phone about the incredible price for a pound of turkey — 79 cents to be exact.
Upon seeing the new and improved Santa Claus, the woman tells the person on the other line that she just met Santa Claus and that he is “weirdly hot.”
The store’s new face of the holidays even traded in his reindeer for a new mode of transportation: a cherry red Ford Bronco with the license plate reading “SLEIGH.”
Ladies on the Internet are swooning over Target’s newest crew member – ‘hot Santa’
One of the Christmas adverts, which has been viewed more than seven million times, showed a woman on the phone telling the person on the other line that she had just met Santa Claus – and that he was ‘weirdly handsome’.
The ads began appearing in November, all featuring the Silver Fox in a fitted red quarter-zip sweater and the traditional beige khaki pants.
Another commercial for the store’s Black Friday deals features Kris K curling a Christmas tree with his biceps as he eagerly shared his excitement with his coworkers about delivering gifts to the store.
And of course he loves the holidays “way more than the next guy.”
“A lot more than anyone else, actually,” Target wrote about Kris K. in their YouTube description. “Actually, more than anyone knows.”
“But hey, that’s not important. What is is that shiny red Bronco and that perfectly coiffed beard.”
Viewers across the internet immediately started swooning over Target’s new employee after the ads started going viral on platforms like X and TikTok — even going so far as to submit requests for in-store meet and greets with Santa.
“I showed my husband the commercial of Kris driving…let’s just say our husband is definitely jealous of Kris this year!” read a comment on TikTok.
Another read: “Target, can you wrap up your Santa and have him wait under my tree?”
“I never wanted to sit on Santa’s lap until now!” said another.
The new sexy Santa even traded in his reindeer for a cherry red Ford Bronco with a license plate that reads ‘SLEIGH’
Another ad shows the handsome Santa Claus curling a Christmas tree with his biceps as he excitedly prepared for the Black Friday crowds
The new modern face of Santa is the retail giant’s way of modernizing its Christmas advertising and engaging its target audience with a man who ’embodies the brand’
The commercials received so much attention online that actor Amy Adams even got a mention for it Wednesday when he appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
While discussing People’s “Sexiest Man Alive,” Adams said her answer to the question of who should receive that award would have been Target Santa.
“If you don’t know Target Santa, yes, look it up,” she said.
But the handsome figure is no stranger to Christmas at all.
Hot Santa is played by 41-year-old actor and model Brent Bailey, who has starred in three holiday films, as well as Netflix’s hit show “The Lincoln Lawyer” and the Apple+ series “The Morning Show.”
While some have argued that Santa’s new face may not resonate with children, Target’s decision to modernize their brand has proven to work wonders as they continue to receive widespread engagement from more than interested customers.
Target’s newest crew member is played by 41-year-old actor and model Brent Bailey, who also appeared in three previous holiday films
Lisa Roath, Target’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer, called their new Santa “cheerful, helpful and optimistic” during a conversation with AdWeek – ‘characteristics that embody the brand’.
“He’s got a witty edge, and he’s wickedly handsome,” she added. “He represents our incredible team members, who are heroes this holiday season and beyond.”
But it might not be the last time we see Bailey as the big man.
A total of nine ads were planned for television, social media and streaming platforms as a way for the company to create a more memorable campaign for the holidays – five of which have already dropped. The Columbus Dispatch reported.
And his form-fitting red sweater — which has also become popular on social platforms — can be found in Target stores and their website for $24.99.