First love? Jeans from Gap
The U.S. fashion label is promoting its denim line using semi-celebrities and subtle ads
The US fashion label advertises with denim on semi-celebrities and subtle commercialsBy Thérèse Balduzzi After years of showing upstanding young people dancing rock 'n' roll in khakis, the fashion label is turning its attention to simple denim in its new campaign - and to all the more artistic commercials.
Last winter, the Gap advertising by the new Gap agency Modernista from Boston was given a more minimalist, cool touch. The new campaign, launched for the start of school in the fall, features rising movie and music stars. The commercials celebrate emotion, spontaneity and individuality. They appear improvised, but are carefully choreographed and multi-layered.
In one of the 30-second commercials, actress Juliette Lewis appears with two robots who are recognized by infected members of the club scene as the French duo Daft Punk. The song "Digital Love" played in the commercial comes from the duo's latest CD, in whose music video the couple also appear as robots. Lewis dances really badly at the beginning. But she catches herself and dances with the robots. At the end, the logos "Gap Denim" and "Gap.com" appear. In another spot, actress Shannyn Sossamon ("A Knight's Tale") stands behind one of three DJ stations and scratches along with DJs ShortKut and Rob Swift. The music shreds, she dances. At the end she says: "My first love? Boys who scratch."
The spots are impressively choreographed, and in each one the huge white room with parquet flooring is used to create a different effect. In one, R&B star Cherokee plays electric guitar in front of a wall of Marshall amps. Her question-and-answer phrase is: "My first love? Angus Young" - the lead guitarist of AC/DC. All alone in the room and filmed from far above, red-haired Nikka Costa appears, performing a song by soul singer Sarah Vaughan. Her first love is "The old school".
Semi-celebrities also adorn advertisements and posters
In another sentimental spot, the camera moves past a white grand piano to a young woman singing the song "So far away" by Carol King. A little later, we see that Carol King herself is sitting at the piano and the imitator is her daughter Louise Goffen. Her first love? "My mom." In addition to these sentimental spots, another one provides subtle humor: Will Ferrell, a comedian from the show "Saturday Night Live" and specializing in impersonations of President Bush, sings the Neil Diamond song "Forever in Blue Jeans". He begins with a songwriting cliché: "I wrote this song on the back of a dixie cup." Only those who know Will Ferrell from "Saturday Night Live" and Neil Diamond will understand the humor. The commercials were directed by Paul Hunter.
Posters and advertisements show other semi-celebrities such as film actor Giovanni Ribisi, and the star of "Saturday Night Live", Tina Fey, and DJ Spooky were also photographed by Christian Witkin.
Last winter, the Gap advertising by the new Gap agency Modernista from Boston was given a more minimalist, cool touch. The new campaign, launched for the start of school in the fall, features rising movie and music stars. The commercials celebrate emotion, spontaneity and individuality. They appear improvised, but are carefully choreographed and multi-layered.
In one of the 30-second commercials, actress Juliette Lewis appears with two robots who are recognized by infected members of the club scene as the French duo Daft Punk. The song "Digital Love" played in the commercial comes from the duo's latest CD, in whose music video the couple also appear as robots. Lewis dances really badly at the beginning. But she catches herself and dances with the robots. At the end, the logos "Gap Denim" and "Gap.com" appear. In another spot, actress Shannyn Sossamon ("A Knight's Tale") stands behind one of three DJ stations and scratches along with DJs ShortKut and Rob Swift. The music shreds, she dances. At the end she says: "My first love? Boys who scratch."
The spots are impressively choreographed, and in each one the huge white room with parquet flooring is used to create a different effect. In one, R&B star Cherokee plays electric guitar in front of a wall of Marshall amps. Her question-and-answer phrase is: "My first love? Angus Young" - the lead guitarist of AC/DC. All alone in the room and filmed from far above, red-haired Nikka Costa appears, performing a song by soul singer Sarah Vaughan. Her first love is "The old school".
Semi-celebrities also adorn advertisements and posters
In another sentimental spot, the camera moves past a white grand piano to a young woman singing the song "So far away" by Carol King. A little later, we see that Carol King herself is sitting at the piano and the imitator is her daughter Louise Goffen. Her first love? "My mom." In addition to these sentimental spots, another one provides subtle humor: Will Ferrell, a comedian from the show "Saturday Night Live" and specializing in impersonations of President Bush, sings the Neil Diamond song "Forever in Blue Jeans". He begins with a songwriting cliché: "I wrote this song on the back of a dixie cup." Only those who know Will Ferrell from "Saturday Night Live" and Neil Diamond will understand the humor. The commercials were directed by Paul Hunter.
Posters and advertisements show other semi-celebrities such as film actor Giovanni Ribisi, and the star of "Saturday Night Live", Tina Fey, and DJ Spooky were also photographed by Christian Witkin.
