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(actually, aside from a few pairs of khakis that I had to buy for work back in my retail daze, my wardrobe is happily Gap-free. not for any political reasons, they're just lame)
This advert showed me what normal thin models look like, as opposed to the latest size zero fanatics.
But is it a sliding slope? After all, last year Keira Knightly seemed normal thin and very beautiful but this year she looks scary.
Don't mean to de-rail, apologies if it's seen like that and delete as necessary
I have a few pair of GAP jeans; they're not too expensive, AND, unlike expensive jeans, I can buy them in the length I need (you're supposed to buy the $200 kind and have them TAILORED. That offends my personal cheapness)- short, because I have short legs. I wonder what GAP can do to get their brand in shape?
yeah, it seems to me the idea of what they're calling here "cause-related advertising" seems risky, and not just for the obvious political reasons - I almost always see it as hypocritical and exploitative. Unless the "cause" is intrinsically related to the product or production of the product, as in biodegradable, no-animal-testing, or fair-trade items, for example, I'm much more likely to avoid the advertiser out of disgust.
Just spending millions on advertising to say "peace is good, so buy from us!" doesn't convince me that purchasing your product is a good idea. In fact, quite the opposite.
I dont' think advertising of any kind is going to save them unless they revamp themselves. As it stands now they're just a more expensive Old Navy specifically aimed at teenagers & young adults, and their clothes are interchangeable, so why would anyone spend the extra money? They need to reinvent their brand first, then worry about how to market it.
/jesus, I've clearly spent too much time in PR meetings.
I hate GAP clothing so much that I pack all the hand-me-down GAP KIDS stuff from Perles cousins in my "To give to salvation army" boxes. Never. Once. Bought. Anything. GAP.
Not because of their ads or anything, it's just that if I want plain tee's and plain jeans I'll yaknow, get plain tee's and plain jeans. I don't wear that sort of thing.
Their clothes are boring; that's why no one buys them. 20-30 years years ago (I think they were established in the late 60s but became a powerhouse in the 80s) they were hip and fresh and they introduced upscale basics into the apparel market. Everyone queued up to pay moderately big bucks for plain, simple, decently-made, undadorned t-shirts and boxers and jeans in lots of colorways. But that market is saturated now and plain, decently-made basics in lots of colors are available in lots of places, done better, cheaper, and with more palatable politics, I suppose. Gap needs to change what they sell.
Oh, I also wanted to mention that of issue-oriented advertising, Dove's 'Real Women' campaign seems smart to me. It's intrinsically tied to their products, their customers, the culture, and real concerns about how impossible depictions of beauty in advertising and media negatively affect us - and since fashion and beauty products are the worst offenders, it seems like a statement that is worthwhile coming from a cosmetics company.
Despite the fact that I know some clever ad person came up with it to sell more Dove, I still like the messages. And in fact, it actually works with me; I'm more likely to pay more attention to their products now, and consider trying them - *because* of this campaign. That's very, very rare for me.
I might be inclined to buy some Gap stuff, just as an experiment. I'm required to wear khaki (or similar) pants to work, and, for a while, I thought that Old Navy pants were the best value for the money. They're cheap. But they wear out very, very quickly. I've been led to believe that Gap (and Banana Republic) stuff is much better-constructed. But is that even true, or is it part of some corporate lie? Eddie Bauer (for example) pants are three times as expensive as Old Navy ones, but do they last three times as long? 'Business casual' is the biggest fraud in human history.
taz, I agree about dove. It's smart. I know they're playing me, but it's smart.
And yaknow, their deepconditioning hairpack thingie in a jar turned out to be pretty darn good, too! (only thing I bought several times after campaign).
Hrm. I buy Gap jeans because they fit me properly. But only when someone gives me a gift card. For the rest of my plain stuff, I head to Target, just like BP.
Eddie Bauer clothes are like the cockroaches of the apparel world - they will survive us all. Eddie Bauer stuff is worth the money, I think. Their pants wear like iron. LL Bean and Carhart (sp) too. Gap, no. Old Navy, no. Banana Republic, I bought one thing there and it fell apart rather quickly (it was a handkerchief linen blouse, so it was delicate) and never shopped there again...too expensive.
I wear a lot of Carhartt stuff when I'm not at work, but it's a little rough and rugged for a public library. And didn't LL Bean donate a bunch of money to anti-gay-marriage legislation in Maine? Then again, I suspect that Carhartt and Eddie Bauer have some political opinions that I disagree with as well. Eddie Bauer did that cobranding thing with the Ford SUVs, and I believe Carhartt is outspokenly Christian.
Years ago, I was quite content to buy these kinds of brands only at thrift stores, but, these days, I don't have time to go to thrift stores 3 times a week. Sigh.
I used to buy Gap jeans because they were the only ones that fit me (the Eddie Bauers are too long so I'd have to get them hemmed), but my last 2 pairs of jeans have worn out too fast or split ignominiously, so I guess I should stay away from them.
An advertising campaign that failed to increase sales sounds like only a tip of the iceberg why a President & CEO got 86'ed.
What of the product itself¿
Did they study the relevance, preferences of their target market. Has the target market changed¿ etc, etc.
Looking at the RED ad with Christy Turlington...
hmmm, the strap off the shoulder is not the way to go. Unrealistic, any woman would pull them back on her shoulders. They don't want to be falling out while doing yoga, please.
Minimalist is all fine and dandy, but where's the message. No globe in her lap or a large one in the background at least¿ That's my take on the art direction.
Never even stepped into a Gap, but I'm definitely not their target market.
I gotta say that any Eddie Bauer stuff I have bought lasts forever...Same with Mountain Equipment Co-op (one of the cooler places I have ever seen - and their online ordering is pretty great too).
I buy Old Navy stuff because it's not too expensive and I don't think it's too gimpy, but meets the business casual requirements. But, no, they don't last.
It's almost like they're competing against themselves
You'd be surprised how people shop to price points. Gap, ON and BR are literally all the same clothing at different prices. Well, they manufacture down for ON (fewer pieces of fabric, cruder sewing) and up for BR, but it's all cooked up in the same marketing hotpot.
But is that even true, or is it part of some corporate lie?
It is true (go to the stores and look), but whether the extra expense of Gap and then BR is worth it is up to you.
Eddie Bauer (for example) pants are three times as expensive as Old Navy ones, but do they last three times as long?
Probably not. The price builds in brand affiliation, "lifestyle", etc. as well as durability (if that).
If you want well-constructed clothing, go to Land's End. They're not quite as distinctive since Sears bought them, I guess, but they still seem to stake out a quality materials and quality construction niche. And they aren't excessively expensive.
Gap needs to change what they sell.
This is probably the basic problem. Their "simple basic interchangeable clothing" thing is difficult to keep fresh. They've been struggling for at least five years.
I don't own anything that I bought at the Gap, though I think I may have a Gap sweater I picked up at the thrift store. This is lack of love for the gap is mostly related to the fact that in business, nothing stays successful forever. Kmart used to be much bigger than Walmart, now they're not. I wouldn't be surprised if in twenty years, Walmart has to scale back.
I do have to say that I do own something from gap that is so old that it is in tatters from nearly constant wear... but I love it so much I can't throw it away. It is about 15 years old, though.
Instead of having a child, I had a Gap sweat jacket. I suppose it'll be leaving home any day now.
The only GAP item I have was bought at a thrift store. It's a great shirt, though, and those are hard for me to find, since I'm quite a bit taller than average.
I'll buy pants from just about anywhere I can find them, but that, too, is a bit of an effort. I end up wearing mostly Dockers, though I don't love the style, because they actually fit. I have some great Duckheads that are 20 years old, but they've stopped carrying my size, apparently. Give me pants in 40x34 at a decent price, and you'll have a customer for life!
yes, but the ultimate message was still "BUY SOAP." They just chose to do it by saying "BUY OUR SOAP! not only will you be clean, you will be socially conscious, too."
I looove Eddie Bauer, but only buy when they run their online sales (which is pretty damn frequently, actually). It's one of the few places that has clothes that fit my circus-sized husband. Their jeans and khakis can run as little as 15 to 20 bucks on sale and their customer service is awesome.
But most of my stuff is from Target, too. *waves to pode and BP*
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