No Gap Ads on Television this Holiday Season

This seems like such a huge story, and yet I haven't heard much chatter about it online.

The Gap, which for the last few years has released a string of memorable (albiet annoying) holiday ads, will be foregoing all television advertising this season.

After testing the effectiveness of their recent television ads by only running in select markets, they saw no difference in traffic between the television and non-television markets.

Instead, they will be promoting their merchandise with a gift guide that will appear in several shopping-related magazines, and though a holiday website featuring gift ideas, holiday ringtones, and online games.

The fact that a major retailer like the Gap would choose to not run ads during their biggest time of year could indicate the beginning of a massive shift in the ad industry. While other forms of promotion, especially online, have come to play an important role in any retail marketing strategy, television is often the cornerstone of a campaign.

Of course, Gap the company is still running ads for Old Navy and Banara Republic, so I wouldn't exactly play Taps for TV yet.

Here is the article where I first saw the story...