Is Gap Selling Happiness Again?

For years it seemed it was a rite of passage that every student donned a pair of Gap jeans or a hoodie emblazoned with the brand name across the chest. But in recent years the brand has been publicly failing and struggling to maintain market share. What's changed? Gap still sells wardrobe staples at reasonable prices. The question is - did the brand move away from the customer base, or did the customers make the move?

Naturally, its a combination of all things. Gap strayed from its denim roots and dropped its TV presence for a time, contributing to the slide. Meanwhile a slew of luxury denim brands have flooded the market, making old standbys hard to notice in the pack. And today's kids have previously unheard of amounts of disposable income. This means they'd rather have Gucci bags or Seven jeans, just because they can afford it. According to of Jim Taylor, vice chairman of the Harrison Group, ''Having a Gucci scarf is part of being a kid today.'' So what's a mass market retailer to do?

In my opinion: sell joy. Remember the memorable "Swing" spot for Gap from '98? Or the "Khaki Soul" spot that introduced a new generation of listeners to Bill Withers? I do. Gap created a demand for their product by selling a mood. They made mass market items irresistable with happy music and infectious commercials peppered with celebrities. Rarely are consumers ever buying 'just a scarf' or 'just a pair of jeans.' We're hoping to feel a certain way about ourselves when we wear it. We're often buying into an ideal. A better version of ourselves. Gap was selling an emotion we all wanted to feel: joy. Gap made it seem as though it just took a pair of their soulful jeans to make us feel good. As Ravit puts it:

"The Khaki-Swing commercial wasn't really about the 40's, or about happy people or dancing people and it most certainly was not about Khakis or t-shirts either. It was about a way of being. A life style. An identity. Watching that commercial produced a rare emotional congruence between what viewers saw and how they wanted to feel about themselves; it mirrored what most people want to feel and have- happiness, carefree attitude, connectedness, togetherness, confidence, a sense of community, and individuality."

Over the years, though, Gap changed its campaign strategy and got lost in the shuffle. It's grungy, low-energy spots reflected (caused?) their sluggish sales. But now, I'm glad to observe, Gap has started selling joy again in their commercials. The hip new spot containing Common takes me back to the enjoyable Gap ads of the past. It may be simplistic to say that somber commercials make for slow sales. But in the case of Gap there always seems to be a correlation between the happy bottom line and the joy in the commericals. Hopefully the holidays will be very merry for both the brand and commercial viewers. I'll even forgive them for the angst-filled Audrey Hepburn debacle.