Madonna, Missy Wear Gap Their Way

NEW YORK Madonna knows how to accessorize. In a new campaign breaking today for Gap, the Material Mom dresses up her low-rise cropped cords and a ribbed white tank top with more than $5 million in diamond jewelry from Neil Lane.Not to be outdone, her TV commercial and print cohort, Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliot, sports a Gap T emblazoned with an airbrushed self-portrait and detailed low-rise boot cut cords."We wanted to find people who had a strong energy and strong sense of style," said Trey Laird, president and creative director at Laird + Partners, the New York shop responsible for the effort. The two personalities reinforce the Gap philosophy that encourages consumers to celebrate their own personal style, said Laird, adding, "You wear it in your own way. They wear it in their own way."Elliot and Madonna jam to a remixed version of the latter's "Hollywood" and "Get Into the Groove" in a 75-second director's cut, which appears at 8 p.m. on VH1 tonight, and subsequent 30- and 60-second versions to run on TV through Labor Day. The spot was shot over a three-day period in late June on the back lot of Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. HSI Productions' Paul Hunter, who has worked on music videos with artists like Jennifer Lopez and Michael Jackson, among others, directed it. He was also responsible for Nike's "Freestyle." The San Francisco-based retailer signed the pop icon and hip-hop impresario to the commercial deal about two months ago after a month of negotiations, said Laird. "Madonna is the most professional, dedicated person I've ever worked with. She cares about every detail in the process," said Laird. "She's incredibly creative. She has the eye of a director, the taste of a stylist, talent of a great entertainer. She's really multi-talented. "Photographer Regan Cameron shot the print elements of the campaign. Cameron has photographed Madonna before for an In Style shoot; he also shot imagery for her Drowned World Tour two years ago.The campaign is a departure from last fall's effort that featured celebrities from Sissy Spacek to Christian Slater to illustrate that Gap was "For every generation." That series was meant to re-establish Gap's appeal among a number of key consumer segments, which the retailer had alienated in its zeal to target a teen audience with fashion-forward product lines. "Now that that's re-established, we want to take it to the next level and appeal to individual targets," said Laird.The current campaign, which plugs the corduroy line, is aimed at 20- to 40-year-olds. Another fall push, due to break in September, will target women with ads featuring actresses Lucy Liu and Amanda Peet.Campaign spending was not disclosed. Gap put nearly $130 million in advertising behind the brand last year, according to TNS Media Intelligence/CMR.

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Madonna, Missy Wear Gap Their Way

Ann M. Mack

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