Latest / Open Tabs / 🎧 Gap's genius marketing, ballet-core, and the Phia fallout

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🎧 Gap's genius marketing, ballet-core, and the Phia fallout · Open Tabs

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to a Friday edition of OpenTab.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_02: Fun.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_02: Hi, guys.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_02: Hi, Melissa.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_02: Hi, Megan.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_02: Hi.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_02: Hi.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, my gosh.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't do my intro.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_02: OpenTabs, where we cover the stories, taking up space in our tabs, our feeds, and our brains.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_02: There we go.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, guys.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_02: We have a few things to cover and we're all busy.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: So as always, we're just going to jump straight into it.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: First thing,
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like the fun marketing moment of this week has been Hailey Bieber
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_02: and Gap's Jean collab.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_02: In case you don't know, Gap just released a single pair of jeans.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_02: I think it comes in like multiple watches, but it's like one jean design with Hailey Bieber.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_02: I think they're calling it the Hailey Jean.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_02: And the entire campaign has been like all about 1996, the year she was born.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_02: The commercial they did,
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_02: it talks about analog and CEDs and like It's
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_02: all about a throwback to 90s nostalgia
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_02: and 90s media and sawing her jeans.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_02: And this whole collab came about because I think it was a year ago.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_02: I want to say she wore a pair of Gap jeans and like got packed on the street
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_02: with them and they instantly sold out.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_02: So a year later, they now collabed with
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: her on a pair of jeans.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_02: Megan, I wanted to get your thoughts because earlier this year you wrote a piece for M.T.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_02: Deco about Gap and their iconic ads going all the way back to the 90s.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_02: So I wanted to get your thoughts on the campaign.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we kind of broke down the formula of what makes a Gap ad and what they've always done.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: And we identify that they often pair a trending celebrity with music and dancing.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then that's the ad.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: So for this,
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: they had Hailey Bieber,
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: obviously,
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: and then They paired it with the Cranberries Linger,
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: which also had a moment on TikTok last year.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: So they're bringing in like all of these things that are proven to trend in culture together.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: But there was no dancing.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Haley didn't do any dancing.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: She just kind of put a song on the boombox.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: But I will say this is definitely going to bring back the CD player in a big way.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: I already saw that there's one on Urban Outfitters and I was like, was this here before?
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's funny.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and Gen Z and Gen Alpha,
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: I do think, is interested in CDs, kind of the same way that we are records.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I could totally see that being something that comes out of this,
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: of like, we're all collecting CDs now.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: But I thought that was an interesting departure to not have dancing.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_02: Megan, you're Always on the nose because I was,
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_02: before I was doing this,
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_02: I was working on our Monday Cultural Gems email where we,
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: it's basically a roundup of all the things I think people should know about heading
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_02: into the week.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_02: We've talked about that.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and also we've seen the artists make this kind of a function of their product.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like right now,
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: I have four copies of The Life of a Showgirl sitting upstairs that I have not opened
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: because when Taylor Swift announced it,
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: there was like a special edition where it came with the jewelry
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: and I hadn't listened to the album yet,
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: but I was like,
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna be able to resell these even if like I don't want them one day.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: So one day they're gonna be worth a lot of money because they did sell out.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_02: It's an investment piece.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_02: Kind of, yeah.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: I think this is, I mean, so many thoughts.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like,
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: I think Hailey Bieber modeling for Gap and then selling a Hailey-specific jean is
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: so smart.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I want to try them on.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: The only thing that comes to mind for me is that she's pretty tall.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: Are they?
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: She's also pretty tall and I'm short, so I don't know if it's for longer legs.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's such a good idea.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: I think the marketing execution sounds really smart to me.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: I haven't actually consumed a lot of it.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: I saw some of it bubbling up on Substack Notes.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: I saw Emma's note.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: I thought your comment, Emma,
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: about her wanting her to do her ballet I think would have been really smart
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: and creative.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe she just didn't want to do it.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_02: I know.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_02: I feel it.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: This is such a smart move.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_02: I was going to say, yeah,
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_02: I posted a Substack note about how I wish they had tapped her ballet background
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_02: because she famously was like a pretty serious ballerina before she went
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_02: into modeling.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_02: And I feel like ballet is kind of like, It's not an it girl thing right now.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_02: I have friends here in Manhattan who are taking ballet classes instead of going to Pilates.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_02: Megan, are you doing that?
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I am.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's so fun.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's far, but easier and less intimidating.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like halfway there.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_02: I do bar and I am obsessed with bar.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_02: So I need to do a ballet class one of these days.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: And cheaper, I will say.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Ballet class is cheaper than a workout class.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: So that's another plus.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_02: And I mean, the aesthetic is so cute.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I was just going to say, I think it's like
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: ballet aesthetic.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: I remember like even going back to like when, what was that movie?
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: With Natalie Portman when she was the ballerina.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: Black Swan.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: Black Swan.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: I remember that.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like every few years, ballet aesthetic and dressing comes back into fashion.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it's interesting that you say that too, Emma.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: I hadn't really thought about this too,
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: but even Ballerina Farm,
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: And like the way people talk about ballet,
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: like again,
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: I have a daughter who does dance and a lot of the moms are like, oh,
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: I really want my daughter to do ballet for like posture and
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: for like how she carries herself.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: And like the strength of it,
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: how you can be both strong and feminine,
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like is very like indicative in ballet,
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: but also ballet does have like negative connotations too.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's also like, Body type and, like, there's a lot of, you know, it's interesting.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: But I feel like in culture, like, ballet, it's funny to hear that you take the classes too many.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: Like, this is just,
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: I've never,
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: I haven't heard of, like,
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: adults taking it,
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: but I can see that making sense and people wanting to do that, you know?
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like it's connected to,
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_02: like, the whimsy-maxing trend that we've talked and written about.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I've never taken one, Megan,
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_02: so you tell me if I'm wrong,
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_02: but I feel like it probably feels like tapping into a childhood memory.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like because so many people,
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_02: it's like you do that way when you're little and then you drop out and returning
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_02: to it as an adult for fun.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: Well, so many, I mean,
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: I was just reading,
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: we were just at our house in New York and a lot of my childhood stuff ends up
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: with Lucy and like She had this book that I had called The Silver Slippers.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: And it was like this book that came with a necklace on it.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: And it was all about this little girl who like didn't feel confident doing her ballet class.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: But when she wore the necklace, she felt like confident enough, you know?
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: And it really is one of those things.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: It's like horseback riding too.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: Like there's these like core things that I feel like millennials in particular were like fed.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: They were like seeds that were planted.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember like Early memory of like when people would ask me what I wanted
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: to be when I grew up, I would say I want to be like a ballerina ice dancer.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, what?
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: Now everyone says influencer.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: But that was like the,
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: I just remember it was like when ice skating,
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: like my grandmother would watch like You know, like, in the Olympics and stuff.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: And that was, like, the ultimate.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: And, like, so in my, like, childhood brain, like, I was like, oh, it's ballerina ice dancers.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: That's, like, the, you know.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like it was, like,
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_02: you knew, like, for millennials, like, Misty Copeland and, like, Michelle Kwan.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_02: Like, they were, like, celebrity, celebrity ballerinas and, like, ice skaters.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, going back to the Gabat, I wish she had done that.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_02: I thought that would have been like a fun twist.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_02: And as we've talked about, and Megan always says like nostalgia is a little played out.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: Can I tell you though,
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like people love nothing more to critique people who attempt ballet.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: No, that is true.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: So I can just like only imagine,
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_01: like I'm sure she might have been willing to,
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: but like The pressure she would have felt to have done a routine for that and
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: then not have been dragged for it, it kind of sucks.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: No, I think you're right, Melissa.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: I'm thinking back to Black Swan.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: The world was so hard on Natalie Portman.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: And she really did train, allegedly, for that.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: And she had a stand-in.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: I think she had a stand-in.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: And you're just never going to win.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: People love to critique ballet.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_02: No, I think you're probably right.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_02: One of the rising pop girl who I'm obsessed with right now, Adela,
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_02: she was Dream Academy,
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_02: which is the reality show that the girl group Cat's Eye was birthed from,
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_02: and she was eliminated because she said she was too much of a And they're like,
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_02: we can't make you work in a girl group.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_02: And she totally was.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, yeah, she's such a soloist.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_02: And she is from...
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_02: Somewhere in Eastern Europe.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_02: But she trained hardcore Russian ballet her entire life because she's like,
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_02: that's what you do in Eastern Europe.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_02: And I knew I wanted to be a star and on stage.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_02: And in my little town, that was the only avenue I saw to make that a thing.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_02: But now she's a rising pop star.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_02: And she, in her stage performance, integrates a lot of ballet.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_02: Like, she's literally on point for, like, half of it.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_02: That's so cool.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_02: So cool.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_02: And, like, very alternative.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_02: Her tights are all ripped up.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_02: She's wearing a black tutu and, like, a hot pink backwards baseball cap.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_02: Kind of like you memes right now.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: Because this hat, which I love, looks insane.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't look this weird in real life.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: God, I look like Donald Duck.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I don't know.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: Guys, I've been camping for a week,
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_01: and I have showered once,
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: and I am just,
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: like, in the middle of the woods, in nowhere, like, holding it together.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_02: We leave in, like, three hours, and I'm
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: like, get me to technology.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm on the edge of the camp, like.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_02: Some of us have enough analogs.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_02: Notes from the woods.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: What'd you say?
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_02: Enough analog.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_02: You're analog-ed out.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: I'm analog-ed out.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: Bring me back to technology.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: It's been great.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's just hard to be analog in a tech world.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I say.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: You have to work for it.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_02: Totally.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_02: It's funny.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_02: I was telling Megan in our pre-call,
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like a new status symbol will be like, can you afford to go analog?
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_02: Because it's such a luxury.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: Guys, this week we're at this family camp.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's part of Cal.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: And my husband has gone his whole life.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: And it was always like an affordable vacation for families.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's what it was sort of intended to be.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: Not anymore.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's like thousands of dollars to do this.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: But like, and it is such a pain.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like you have to really work to do it.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: You pay for it and you like pack up everything.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: You get like this wooden kind of cabin.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_02: Oops.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_02: I think the woods might have caught up with Melissa.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: Someone should make that horror movie where it's just like you trying to work in
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: a cabin in the woods and like there's no actual ghost.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's just like bad connection that sneaks up on you.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_02: That would be the 2026 version of Cabin in the Woods.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_02: Like that is like modern day.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: Corporate Natalie Needs to Star.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: She does.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_02: That's so funny.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_02: I just sent Melissa an invite.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_02: If she joins, she joins, but no pressure.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_02: Another quick...
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_02: Wait, before I want to say one other thing about Gap.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: So we're going into back-to-school season.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: So they did their denim campaign with Haley,
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: and I feel like something they've been doing really well is kind
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: of This like fashion girl angle where like they obviously like Gap is
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: a like very mass market retailer.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: They're in malls and like they're for the everyday consumer,
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: but they do these collections like Sandy Liang and Hailey Bieber.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: To get people interested and get fashion journals talking about them.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: So then it keeps them top of mind.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: So like this is a very interesting strategy because it's like
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: the Hailey Bieber jeans are sold out.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: But she's now top of mind and or Gap is now top of mind for Gen Z consumers
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: who might pop into Gap and see what else that they've got happening.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm like, OK, who are they going to do next?
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: Because it seems like they're able to get whoever they want.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel like I'm excited for their holiday campaign because they're getting a lot
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: of really great people and they're making cool stuff.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: They are going to sell out really quickly.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm like, who could it be?
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: Because Gen Z, Hailey Bieber for Dunham in the summertime is so perfect.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm like, if you can get anyone, who's it going to be?
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_02: I know.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: I really feel like Gap...
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_02: As you wrote in your article that you did for us a couple months ago,
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_02: they've always been such a staple.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_02: For decades, they've been a staple.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like in the past 10 years,
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_02: they kind of fell into like,
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_02: oh, it's like where you get basics, but nobody was really talking about Gap.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_02: It was where I got my basics, like if I needed a white t-shirt.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_02: Totally.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_02: Like, that's kind of the box I put it in.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_02: And then I feel like in the past, like,
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_02: three years,
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_02: they've really broken out and become, I think they're like a cool girl brand.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I feel like now you hear people say like, oh, I shop at The Gap.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_02: Like, and it's kind of like a cool spot and not like...
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like it was in the same category as Old Navy.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_02: Like, Old Navy is not a cool girl brand, you know?
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_02: But Gap has been able to, like, outgrow that.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, very true.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's the focus on quality.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like, they still are,
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: like, pretty good, decent quality when everything else is getting really bad.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, so that was a fun...
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_02: I loved that little journey we just...
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, through the woods.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_02: Through the woods and through ballet.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_02: And then the last topic,
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_02: the second topic I wanted to talk about,
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_02: we're going to talk about it here live and then it'll be
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_02: behind our paywall later this afternoon when I turn this.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_02: But I have not been able to stop reading up on the FIA controversy.