Sales of an Iowa brewpub’s “dad bod” calendar soared after a TV station reported that people were complaining about Mr. November — the town’s minimally clad mayor.
When KCCI in Des Moines broadcast its story Wednesday, calendar sales had raised $220 for food baskets for the needy; barely a day later, the take had jumped to $1,500, and Hot Air Brewing said it may order a second printing.
KCCI said the story was prompted by “almost a dozen complaints and news tips from people offended by the picture” of Gabe Carroll, mayor of Creston.
The TV report showed several anonymous emails, plus a Facebook post in which a Creston resident asked “what in the actual hell is happening in this town” and describing the November page as “our mayor nude with a turkey on his privates.”
The poultry is actually chicken. Carroll, sitting in a chair, holds a platter with a roast chicken on his lap.
Katie Davidson, owner of Hot Air Brewing, clarified: “He’s got underwear on. I mean, the only thing naked is the chicken.”
The other men in the calendar, which is called “Father Figures,” are at least bare-chested. One wears a kilt, another a pair of lederhosen, and a third is covered only by his guitar. Most are Hot Air employees or trivia night regulars, Davidson said.
The calendars sell for $20 each — which includes a beer, if you’re at the brewpub — and 25% of the proceeds go to the Christmas Basket Fund.
Carroll sent KCCI a statement touting the fundraising aspect and adding: “I can understand some people not getting the joke and feeling offended. … That’s just part of life, I suppose.”
Carroll, 40, is a chiropractor, married with three children. He has been mayor of Creston — population 7,500 — for three years.
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