10646: Widening Gap Squeezes Ogilvy.

Advertising Age reported Gap is shifting away from a global AOR model, opting to partner with a roster of agencies. Leave it to Ogilvy to fuck up a perfect example of Corporate Cultural Collusion. In 2011, the agency won global AOR status and simultaneously let Gap hire an Ogilvy executive as its global chief marketing officer. How awful must you be in order to have your own inside man reject you? Wonder how long it will take before Gap decides Ogilvy should be gone.

Gap Moves Away From Global AOR Agency Model

Brand Will Work With Roster of Shops

By Natalie Zmuda

Gap brand is decreasing its reliance on a main global agency in favor of a roster of agencies tapped on an as-needed basis.

In early 2011, Gap brand tapped Seth Farbman, Ogilvy’s worldwide managing director, as its chief marketer and said the shop would handle its business globally. Now, the brand is looking beyond Ogilvy to shops including Peterson Milla Hooks and AKQA.

PMH, a Minneapolis-based shop, has worked with Target, Kmart and JC Penney. The shop created Gap’s summer “Be Your Own T” campaign and is working on the upcoming holiday campaign. AKQA worked with the brand on its digital Styld.by program.

“Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide helped us tremendously over the last year in establishing the Gap brand ‘Be Bright’ platform, which we launched with our spring campaign,” said Edie Kissko, a Gap spokeswoman. “Ogilvy also created our fall ‘Icon Redefined’ campaign.”

According to an executive close to the company, Gap Inc. maintains a relationship with Ogilvy. Ogilvy referred calls to the client.

“Gap brand has been and will continue to work with a roster of advertising agencies to support our global needs,” Ms. Kissko said.

Ms. Kissko also said that Gap brand is not in the midst of any agency reviews, despite a recent global restructuring that puts the North American, international, online and franchise divisions for each of Gap Inc.’s brands under a single division. Steve Sunnucks, current president of Gap Inc.’s international division, will become global president of Gap. Jack Calhoun will become global president of Banana Republic, and Stefan Larsson is serving as global president of Old Navy.

Contributing: Rupal Parekh