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By Alyce Lomax (TMF Lomax)
March 22, 2005
If you're like me, and have gotten a little sick of hearing Sarah Jessica Parker sing about how much she likes being a girl on those Gap (NYSE: GPS) commercials that are currently all over TV, here's some good news. Gap will be switching spokespeople for its summer campaign.
Gap's latest SJP ad has been on a seemingly endless loop on the networks, at least whenever I happen to switch on the set, and I was beginning to really grit my teeth starting last week. Just last night, though, I hit the limit, slamming the mute button lest I throw something at my television screen. Yep, if you like being a girl, that means you should go to Gap, sure, whatever. I get it, I get it. Enough already!
Sarah Jessica Parker was signed on last spring, snapped up quickly by Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick Gap right after she ended her days as Carrie Bradshaw on HBO's Sex and the City. I did a little Take about it at the time, in fact. As outlandish as the idea was that SJP's persona on that show might smoothly transfer to Gap's fashion sense, it seemed just kooky enough to work, given her recent popularity.
Gap's press announcement today didn't give any indication that the campaign was not successful, although it called the three-season campaign with Sarah Jessica Parker "unique," as the company doesn't plan any more multi-season contracts with celebrities. Take that as you will, as it might be interpreted as an expensive initiative that didn't garner the results expected.
Of course, investors who have been watching this stock know that despite the best efforts of Ms. Parker and the creative teams that came up with the ads, Gap's quarterly fashion sense continues to be, well, flattish. Lots of investors have been waiting for quite some time for Gap to stage a return to its former levels of denim-and-khaki greatness, but in the meantime, other, hotter retailers have stolen the show when it comes to sales and earnings performance, like Chico's (NYSE: CHS) and Urban Outfitters (Nasdaq: URBN). How often do you see either of them advertise on television? Interesting, isn't it.
In Sarah Jessica Parker's defense, of course, an ad campaign might spark interest in a retail brand, but in the long run, it's the threads on the shelves and hangers that really coerce customers into buying. SJP might burst into song about how much she likes being a girl, but in this case, it seems like a case of failed girl power.
Gap is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick. Get Tom and David Gardner's picks hot off the presses every month when you subscribe to Motley Fool Stock Advisor.
Alyce Lomax does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned.
Gap, Inc. is headquartered in San Francisco, California
 Sarah Jessica Parker has lost her fashion cache with Gap Inc. The U.S. clothier said it was dropping the star of its current and ubiquitous ''I Enjoy Being a Girl'' television advertising campaign and buying out her contract.

Parker who turns 40 Friday and is best known for  her role as the Manolo Blahnik shoe-crazed Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO comedy, ''Sex and the City,'' was ousted after less than one year of a multi-year contract.  She signed a three-year $38 million deal with the San Francisco-based retailer in mid-2004 and has only appeared in ads for the company since the 2004 holiday season.

"While Gap will always seek partnerships with celebrities, musicians and rising stars, we don't have any future plans to sign a single person to a multi-season deal like the unique and special relationship we enjoyed with Sarah Jessica," Gap said in a statement Monday, stopping short of calling the ad campaign a failure. One such rising star slated to appear in the upcoming summer white denim promotion for Gap is 17-year-old Grammy-nominated British singer Joss Stone. 

Although Gap would not say its Parker ad campaign was less than successful, the same can not be said for stock market pundits. "If you're like me, and have gotten a little sick of hearing Sarah Jessica Parker sing about how much she likes being a girl on those Gap commercials," Alyce Lomax, a stock market commentator for The Motley Fool web site, said. "Investors who have been watching this stock know that despite the best efforts of Ms. Parker and the creative teams that came up with the ads, Gap's quarterly fashion sense continues to be, well, flattish ... in the meantime, other, hotter retailers have stolen the show."

In a statement to reporters, Parker called the spilt with Gap a mutual decision, and walks away $38 million richer and recently signed a 2-year deal with former employer HBO to develop future programming for the network. Parker is also scheduled to appear in two upcoming comedy films, a movie adaptation of the Comedy Central series, ''Strangers with Candy'', as well as ''The Family Stone'', costarring Diane Keaton and Claire Danes.