When last we heard from Gap (no “the”), the retail giant was working with AOR Wieden+Kennedy after picking the indie shop without a review in 2014.
The work W+K produced was varied, ranging from an Instagram “microseries” depicting the young love shared by Paul Dano and Jenny Slate to a very, very artsy set of ads directed by Benjamin Button himself, David Fincher, and some lighter fare helmed by one Sophia Coppola.
Here’s the news: Unbeknownst to us, Gap ended its relationship with W+K some time ago, dropping the agency just like Weight Watchers did as part of an apparent move away from the traditional AOR model.
At some point thereafter, the chain began working with Untitled Worldwide, best known for making all those Game of War ads starring Kate Upton and, to a lesser extent, employing Eric Cosper as its creative lead. Here’s the ad (really a short film), which stars a group called Brooklyn United Marching Band and features the work of photographer Sam Nixon.
We liked that one. It was legitimately a mini-doc that had very little to do with Gap beyond the fact that several of these kids were wearing the brand name.
Future ads will be collaborations with other partners such as photographer Nadine Ijewere, Korean model and food blogger Sora Choi, Pop’Africana Editor Oroma Elena, illustrator Tuesday Bassen, and Spanish photographer and model Diego Villarreal.
We’re not too familiar with their work, but the point is that Gap, like many other clients, no longer says it has an agency of record.
Here’s some of the print work.
Credits
Photographer: Mel Bles
Models: Birgit Kos, Sora Choi, Londone Myers, Alanna Arrington, Yan Kai Wen, Matthew Davidson, Diego Villareal, Rhys Pickering
Creative Director: Brynn Heminway
Creative Agency: Untitled Worldwide (Both Advertising and Social Media)