A nice revenge.
There are brands that stay in people’s minds forever. They become legends that cross time without us imagining them falling into nothingness. However, despite this power, they sometimes end up suddenly dying out, without anyone expecting it. And this cult brand, having seduced all generations since its creation in 1969, is one of them. She embodies the stylish relaxation and nonchalance of Americans, through an essential piece of our wardrobes: the irresistible blue jeans. His other stylistic signature? Sweatshirts displaying the name of the brand.
After 50 years of existence, it is one of the countless victims of the ready-to-wear crisis. In 2023, it narrowly escaped liquidation in France: the company that owned it was placed in receivership. Formerly owned by businessman Michel Ohayon, it then closed half of its stores in France, including that of the Champs-Elysées. If it continues to exist today through these survivors, on the other hand, it no longer excites the French as much. Abroad, however, this neglected brand is gradually returning to success – proof of this, with its latest well-crafted advertising campaign, which came at the right time to get people talking. This resurrected label is none other than GAP.
Its latest ad appeals to the girls’ group Katseyecurrently in Paris for NRJ Music Awards and the Star Academy. A marketing stunt centered around jeans, its iconic piece, with the slogan “Better in Denim.” This strategic choice aims to conquer the only generation that is still hostile to it: Gen Z. Because the group with 7.4 million subscribers on Instagram is very popular with young people.
An advertising campaign marked by modernity, but also progressivism: it was released some time after the very controversial advertising of its rival American Eaglewith Sydney Sweeney. As a reminder, the latter played on codes of hypersexualization and comments dangerously reminiscent of a form of eugenics and scientific racism, according to certain Internet users.
All these criticisms are brushed aside by the advertising imagined by GAP : we have a group which embodies ethnic diversity, which plays on the comfort of the room more than on the aesthetic and sexy injunctions imposed on the fairer sex. Women dance while wearing GAPwithout playing on a lascivious posture or tone. It is estimated to be the brand’s most viral campaign, with 148.9 million views across TikTok and 46 million on YouTube.
Back to the top? One thing is certain: the whole world has been talking about it. Where GAP was thrown into oblivion, it is now the subject of discussions in the fashion sphere, reintegrated into the imagination… And this is already a first step towards success.
