Sameness is a disease. It slowly destroys brands—and often, they don’t even see it coming. Once a brand loses differentiation and distinctiveness, relevance fades, and decline follows.
For decades, GAP defined popular culture with bold campaigns—Madonna with Missy Elliot, Juliette Lewis with Daft Punk, Spike Lee, Whoopi and Naomi. Christ they even had Hemmingway and Dali promoting their khakis (albeit in print ads – posthumously).
Music was always played a big part in their campaigns, as did dance. Their Khaki Swing ad predated Apple’s Beat ad for its iPod by three years. GAP shoved dance and swagger in your face. And we loved it.
It’s no great surprise then, that their latest campaign “Better in Denim” features both. A mashed-up version of Kelis’s “Milkshake” performed by Katseye.
But the market has moved on from when GAP shaped a cultural conversation. Zara, H&M, Shein, Levis, ASOS, Urban Outfitters and more. All in the same field. All targeting the same group. All trying to shift denim.
To stand out, GAP has to be MORE distinctive. MORE different. And MORE salient and relevant than ever before. Because, not only has it been largely invisible for a long time, but its target audience might also only remember it from being dragged into GAP for Kids. If at all.
Where once there was swagger. Chutzpah. And attitude. Values that helped make GAP iconic in its day. I see only sameness. Take away the logo in the ad and I think it could be one of a dozen retailers.
It’s a smart move to reacquaint the brand with some of the elements that made it so of-the-moment. But to shift the brand into white space where only it can inhabit, it’s going to have to get bolder, more daring and, dare I say, smarter.
