Oh, stop grumbling. It's November, and the Christmas lights have been up for a good couple of weeks now. In keeping with the mammoth run-up to Christmas, all-American retailer Gap has launched an upbeat holiday campaign with the aim of attracting more customers to its stores, and promoting the Gap 'look' as customiseable and wearable.
The chain has long used the holidays as a platform for its own brand of clean cut optimism, with last year's digital effort allowing web users to remix a Christmas carol, performed by a slew of celebrities including TheDixie Chicks and Selma Blair.
This latest dose of festive fun, again through Crispin Porter + Bogusky in Boulder, is all about the holiday cheer. A series of TV spots feature choreographed dancers wearing what looks like as many Gap products as possible belt out songs about defying convention, and are supported by print, outdoor and instore elements. This being Crispin, the obligatory element of oh-so-cool comes in the form of artist and producer Pharrell Williams, who climbed out of his Scrooge McDuck swimming pool of money for a brief moment in order to develop the musical backdrop for the ads.
Online, visitors to www.cheerfactory.com can create 10 customiseable holiday cheers (yelped by the dancers) and share them via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. In a real world iteration of the campaign, a live Gap 'cheer' squad and drumline will criss-cross the country spreading the goodwill of the festive season to anyone within bellowing distance.
We know we sound a little bah humbug, but in truth, this is a well-executed and memorable campaign which serves its purpose admirably - namely, reminding people about Gap at an important time for the retail industry. Just give us a couple more weeks and we'll be carolling with the best of them.
This year also brings the news that music retailer HMV, still standing (just about) as Virgin Megastores,Woolworths and Zavvis disappear, is opening pop-up stores in the run up to Christmas in towns bereft of a music outlet when competitor chains closed. Apparently, the locations that perform particularly well in the run up to Christmas could be granted permanence. Smart thinking from a brand slugging its way to redemption amidst the ruins of a decimated music industry.
