Gap F/W 06.07

[kimair]

from wwd...

Gap is pulling out all the stops in what will be a pivotal fall season.

Among the maneuvers is one of the company's most complex and ambitious advertising campaigns. It kicks off July 20 and is marked by a return to TV advertising after over a year's absence. There's also radio advertising, which hasn't been done since the late Nineties; outdoor ads for the first time in two years, and print ads. It will be supported by in-store events at key locations, including live bands, shopping parties with stylists, customized T-shirts and redesigned shopping bags.

For this fall, however, there's one for denim kicking off next week, apropos for back-to-school. Four weeks later, ads focus on T-shirts, and four weeks after that, it's all about cropped black pants.

Although complicated in its development, the ads are reminiscent of past Gap campaigns, with familiar elements such as dancing, heavy use of black-and-white portraiture, the focus on a single item and a mix of celebrities and models in poses that seem intimate and personal. Among those in the upcoming ads are actors Jeremy Piven and Mia Farrow, singer Natasha Bedingfield and model Eva Herzigova.

There is also subtle use of the Seventies slogan "fall into the Gap," which hasn't been seen in about a decade, with the same melody. Discretely on the bottom of some ads, pyschedelic wavy doodling will reappear, another signature from the Seventies.

"This is a real return to the whole concept of individuality applied to an item," said Trey Laird, of Laird + Partners, Gap's creative agency. "The Gap is really great at surrounding such simple things as T-shirts and jeans with [an aura] of sophistication, coolness and a sense of style."

In the initial "Jeans Take Shape" TV ads, filmed by director Francis Lawrence, female dancers wear skinny jeans, miniskirts and long-sleeved shirts; the men wear dark, straight-leg jeans and jackets. As each person dances, their look transitions from one outfit to another, illustrating a range of denim silhouettes. The 30-second spot will run on network and cable TV through Aug. 17 on shows including "Grey's Anatomy" and "The O.C."

The print campaign, photographed by David Sims, mirrors the TV ads by highlighting denim silhouettes in pops of denim blue colors against a black-and-white background, and blue graphics that illustrate the names of different fits including "the skinny" and "the boyfriend." Print ads will run in August issues of magazines including Vanity Fair, Vogue, In Style, GQ and Rolling Stone. Radio ads run in select markets July 19-30.

 

[Preahya]

I think I am more excited for the ads than they clothes themselves.....

 

[Meg]

This sounds really interesting. it seems like Gap goes through phases like this where they will have really strong advertising campaigns and sort of re-emerge and then they fade away again. Either way, they have used the 'fall into the gap' slogan (though maybe not in print) b/c I remember Missy Elliot in her Gap ad saying 'fall into the Gap, aight'

 

[drakulita]

Various Fall Into The Gap ads from Jeisa-Chiminazzo.com:

 

[nELL]

scanned by polka_dot

 

[Angie C]

^Does anyone know who did the illustrations in those?
Very cute...

 

[thesiren]

does anyone know why gap never aired the spike jonze commercial? i remember him doing something for them maybe a year ago, watching it online, and then watching the gap version (they had edited his cut) online, but then i never saw it on tv, or even read what happened.

these ads sound cool.

 

[fouroclock]

If they do have a Jeremy Piven ad, I'm gonna be so excited coz he's so hot!

 

[nELL]

If they do have a Jeremy Piven ad, I'm gonna be so excited coz he's so hot!

yes he is

 

[LoveMyBoots]

I thought the advertisting campaign with Sarah Jessica Parker was really well done, even though it didn't seem to bring much success to the GAP. And how did they make any money with those free iTunes song for trying on just a pair of jeans???

If anyone's looking for commercials, you're sure to find some at youtube- esp. the Sarah Jessica Parker ones...

Is that Freja in those ads?

 

[nELL]

its Freja in post #5

 

[LoveMyBoots]

its Freja in post #5

thanks I thought so...

 

[littlemissmagic]

i KNEW there would be a post on this after i saw my local flagship today! the ads are gorgeous - top models, and the store concept is ten times cooler than the nasty colourama that was spring/summer

 

[alix*]

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/6977/25475305961xh9.jpg
Karl Lindman, Jessica Stam, Andrew Smith & Du Juan.

 

[drakulita]

cant wait to see other variations!

 

[Erin]

YES! Jeremy Pivon. He's very cool... he fits the Gap image very well, IMO...

 

[Diorling]

Stam looks like Shirley Temple...

and Jeremy Piven is so hot

 

[Pastry]

the advertising campaign, the print ads, tv spots, celebrities..it all sounds like a thought out business strategy. either that or desperation? because i'd imagine they haven't been doing so well...

..can i just say...this is going to cost them some BIG money $$$$$$$$$ (so i guess it has to be thought out.) pure hype. because i doubt they invested where they should have-the quality (especially the fit)

i was surprised they put so much focus on denim..what happened last fall? every chain had a denim line all of a sudden..and i saw them all fail.boo...
but then again, it makes sense...the gap should be the no nonsense jean shopping destination.

on another note, i work just beside the gap flagship, and their VERY TALL window (or the back wall of it) is abcolutelu COVERED with denim. not jsut the fabric..pairs and pairs of jeans. looks amazing.

 

[J'ador-DioR]

Liya Kebede features in this campaign aswell . Jeremy Piven is a hottie

 

[tangerine]

I love the Peter Max/Yellow Submarine graphics and the black/blue/mono color scheme.