Gap Jeans + Gap Clothing = make-or-break moment!
Saturday, July 15th, 2006
“Gap, the largest US speciality clothing retailer, will on Monday launch an eight-week US television advertising campaign for its more than 3,000 Gap brand stores, as part of a comprehensive drive to turn around almost two years of falling sales. The TV ads are tied to the launch of the brand’s autumn clothing, and mark what some industry analysts see as a make-or-break moment for Paul Pressler, chief executive since 2002.
Cynthia Harriss, president of the Gap brand, has been working over the past year to re-establish its reputation for selling stylish casual basics, after unsuccessful forays into dressier clothing, epitomised by its use of Sarah Jessica Parker, star of the Sex and the City TV series, in its marketing two years ago.
“We’ve been re-establishing the essence of our brand and developing a clear point of view about what we stand for,” Ms Harriss told investors last month.
Gap is now returning to TV ads after a year’s break, with a range of artists that Ms Harriss describes as “individual style makers”, including Jeremy Piven, the actor, and Natasha Bedingfield, the singer.”
Financial Times
The MissMess brand, is the brain-child of celebrated artist, Marijana Zebeljan. To paraphrase the artist’s brand philosophy: “If you’re a painter you’re usually in a glorious “Mess”. Historically speaking all greater artists are destitute, almost starving, since the masses don’t pay attention to artists until they’re long dead and buried. Artists live to buy canvas and tools to create their art and colour. To combine a love of art and a means to survive, Marijana Zebeljan puts art onto T-Shirts, Skirts and Bags; art not on canvas but accessible art on cotton - a mobile gallery exposed to the street and not hidden in a stuffy and pretentious gallery. MissMess is genuine art; colourful and powerful creativity inspired by true people and a genuine love of art. 
