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Customers who are loving the new “hot Santa” rolled out by Target stores will be happy to know there are more ads to come.

The holiday commercials launched by the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based retailer have created a sensation with millions of views online as customers are swooning over their new employee, Kris K.

While he is not the Santa Claus many children will recognize, Kris K. – sporting a quarter-zip red sweater and driving a fiery red Ford Bronco – is certainly turning heads online. Actor and model Brent Bailey plays the rugged and modernized version of St. Nick for the Target ads that have gone viral.

(Video Credit: Target)

The commercials, with titles like “Born to Be Kris,” and “He’s Hot, But These Target Turkey Deals Are Hotter,” have renewed interest in Target stores leading up to the holidays. With ads beginning before Thanksgiving Day, nine spots were planned and five have already dropped, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

The Black Friday ad had Kris doing bicep curls holding a miniature Christmas tree and another ad was focused on Cyber Monday deals.

The turkey deal ad, in which a customer approached by Kris K. tells a friend on the phone she just met Santa Claus and he’s “weirdly hot,” has been viewed more than 7 million times on YouTube.

(Video Credit: Target)

The latest ad to drop had the Target Santa talking to his reindeer about gift-giving. Kris sometimes almost gives away who he is in the ads that are aimed at helping customers in “the various missions they need to accomplish,” according to Target EVP and chief marketing officer Lisa Roath.

“We heard from consumers that everyone wants the holiday season to be filled with joy and cheer, but shopping for the season can also become a stressful and transactional chore,” Roath told AdWeek last month. “We wanted to help them bridge the gap between the things they need to get done and the joy we can deliver for them.”

Roath described Kris as “joyful, helpful, optimistic – characteristics that embody the brand.”

“He has that witty edge, and he’s roguishly handsome. He represents our incredible team members, who are the heroes during the holidays and beyond,” she added.

Social media users have definitely noticed the ads and they are making the rounds in Hollywood as well. Actress Amy Adams mentioned the Target character in an appearance this week on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

Discussing why People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” should be Santa Claus, Adams quipped, “My answer to that would have been ‘Target Santa.’”

“So, if you don’t know Target Santa, yeah, go look it up,” she said.

Comments on social media have even caught the attention of the jolly man himself.

Some users on X noted the apparent changes in Target’s marketing of Christmas this year.

Frieda Powers
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