Debuting Sept. 7, Gap's new KEEP IT SIMPLE TV spots juxtapose classic footage of Audrey Hepburn from the movie FUNNY FACE dancing in skinny black pants to the 1980 AC/DC hit song Back in Black."
The ad opens as Hepburn dances through a Parisian café in FUNNY FACE. It continues as she jumps out of the movie and onto a backdrop resembling the look and feel of an iconic Gap ad. VFX and graphics help her navigate her way across the screen in a series of energetic dance steps. She then jumps back into FUNNY FACE as the spot concludes with the tagline "It's Back The Skinny Black Pant."
Celebrating Gap's re-launch of the perfect black pant, the ads mark Gap's third and final marketing campaign of the fall season.
Laird+Partners, Gap's creative agency, developed the KEEP IT SIMPLE marketing campaign. The TV spots were developed using visual effects by Method Studios and graphic design and animation by Logan and print ads were photographed by famed fashion photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.
The "Keep It Simple" television campaign features :30 and :60 spots that will air in the U.S. on all major networks, spot markets and cable from Sept. 7-Oct. 5. The spots will premiere on network television shows, including GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC), CSI (CBS) and STUDIO 60 (NBC). Gap.com will also feature the new KEEP IT SIMPLE television commercial, as well as exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the ad.
"Gap has a rich history of integrating memorable choreography and music into our advertising, but we've never done anything quite like this before," said Trey Laird, creative director of Gap. "We wanted to do something really special to re-launch our skinny black pants and thought who better to showcase them than actress Audrey Hepburn an iconic woman famous for dressing with sophistication and classic style."
Gap became known for fabulous "must-have" black pants more than a decade ago they flew off shelves and helped millions of women across the country dress with sophistication and style. Gap's reintroduction of the perfect fitting pair of skinny black pants this fall is a celebration of this classic, iconic piece. Named after timeless fashion icon Hepburn, "The Audrey Hepburn Pant" is sleek and simple with modern details that are undeniably cool. It has an updated bi-stretch fabrication, which allows for greater flexibility and movement and helps the pant keep its shape. Gap's new skinny black pants are destined to become a modern day classic.
In celebration of the launch of the KEEP IT SIMPLE ad campaign, Gap is making a generous contribution to the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund. The Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund is a non-profit organization created to continue Ms. Hepburn's international appeals on behalf of children around the world.
Santa Monica, California-based Method (www.methodstudios.com) is a visual effects studio that design and creates visual effects for commercials, music videos and feature films.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
