In this article:
- Old Navy released a 60-second ad based on the comments from a viral TikTok.
- The ad features elements of Old Navy’s typical advertising.
- The clothing store chain asked TikTok users to continue providing ideas for their commercials.
Old Navy is getting in on the joke.
The clothing retailer took inspiration from a viral TikTok for its latest commercial. In November 2021, TikTok user Samual Beasley (@thesamuelbeez) posted a video set to the song “Fly As Me” by Bruno Mars and Silk Sonic. Beasley joked that the pop song would be perfect for an Old Navy ad, saying “We about to get the most fire Old Navy commercial ever.” More than 1,300 TiKTok users commented on the video, adding what they’d expect to see in an Old Navy commercial.
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Old Navy reportedly started developing the ad when its agency, the Martin Agency, found the video on TikTok and showed it to the company’s executives. The 60-second commercial starts with a girl playing hopscotch, with the disclaimer: “this ad was written by the internet.” The spot then includes three women dancing down the street, with a watermark comment reading “main character walking down the street.
Through the rest of the commercial, the characters follow the directions given by TikTok comments, such as “Dads. Dancing,” “all white background w close-up shots,” and “slow-mo family jump.” The ad concludes with the Old Navy logo, and the last comment: “don’t forget the logo!!”
Old Navy also commissioned Beasley to post another video showing off the new ad. In the clip, Beasley says “We wrote an Old Navy commercial together.” He then asks viewers to comment with any “iconic Old Navy vibe” the ad might have missed. The company is planning on maintaining this TikTok strategy through the remainder of 2022.
The TikTok was poking fun at the aesthetic that Old Navy presents in its advertising, but the retailer chose to join in on the fun, rather than take the video as criticism. Old Navy has also claimed that the new ad is part of its new branding as “America’s most democratic clothing brand.” In a press statement from Old Navy’s parent company Gap, Chief Marketing Officer Jamie Gersch boasted: “To be the most democratic and accessible brand we must listen to our customers and give them what they want. Even when it comes to how we are marketing to them.”
Old Navy is just one of many brands increasing their focus on TikTok, and interacting directly with their customers there, as the app continues to rise in popularity.