The Gap has tapped Academy Award-nominated director David Fincher to elevate and complicate what it means to "Dress Normal" for its new Fall campaign, the first out of global agency Wieden & Kennedy, New York! The effort includes a series of lush, black and white films that capture models in the midst of cryptic scenes, making viewers feel as if they're caught in the middle of a story.
Such perplexing scenarios benefited from having Mr. Fincher on board. The director of "Panic Room, "House of Cards," "Fight Club" and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" -- as well as the forthcoming "Gone Girl" -- is not, on the surface, the type of creative mind associated with Gap's happy, bright persona. And that was intentional!
''Being your most authentic self is a style that will always endure. Dress Normal!''
"There's always an anxiety in Fincher's work," said Gap's Global CMO Seth Farbman. "What I wanted, because this is Gap, was positive anxiety -- that was the brief. We wanted to make it more challenging than what people think of as a Gap commercial. Rather than a beginning, a middle and end of the story, we wanted to tell part of the story and leave a sense of wonder."
As for the thinking behind "Dress Normal," Wieden & Kennedy Creative Director Stuart Jennings said it's meant to serve as a longterm platform on which the Gap can continue to build on a big brand message "so that every season they weren't just doing product campaigns. That was a line that we dug out of a larger manifesto we had written. Those two words hit on a lot of things for us -- the issue of Gap feeling a little bland, for lack of a better word. We also wanted to do something that made it seem relevant again but not desperate -- that still honored the brand's past."
The campaign also spans outdoor, mobile, direct, social, in store and digital. The Styld.by platform will tap photographers, musicians and other creative personalities to share their vew of "Dress Normal." And an experiential element will bring the Dress Normal Project -- a pop-up shop meant to host events and provide an edited assortment -- to five cities!
That said, the style of the spots does tie into Gap's product lineup for fall, which is heavy on black and gray denim. Taglines for other campaign elements include "Black is a color" and "Don't be afraid of the dark." Gap's logo, traditionally shown in the brand's signature blue -- or during the holidays, red -- pops up in yellow, aqua, white and pink throughout the campaign. Those colors are also a nod to colors in the brand's fall assortment.
Print ads shot by Glen Luchford, like Gap campaigns of the past, feature celebrities, including Anjelica Huston, Elisabeth Moss, Michael K. Williams, Jena Malone and Zosia Mamet. More about the Print Ads, "Black is a color","Don't be afraid of the dark.", the GQ Collaboration and much more, tomorrow on fashionspam!
"What we need to reinforce is what has always been true,
that even at full price, the quality and value and enduring style of Gap
product is of high value [..] "If the spots make the
clothes look more expensive, great. They're not!"
NEW COLLECTION AVAILABLE IN STORE & ONLINE NOW!
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