• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, September 14, 2017

Talk about musical chemistry: As part of its ongoing “Meet Me in the Gap” campaign, the retailer introduces music legend Cher to rap star Future for the first time, and the two bat out a new twist on “Everyday People.”

The video, directed by the Director X, lets each of the performers bring their own style to the Sly and the Family Stone classic. And it follows the release earlier this summer of several “Meet Me in the Gap” spots that team other unlikely combinations, like tap dancers and basketball dribblers in “Bounce Meet Bounce” and “Yodel Meet Auctioneer.” (A flutist and a beatboxer are thrown together in that one.) Yard NYC is the ad agency.

The San Francisco-based retailer says the campaign includes TV, airing on major networks; outdoor, mobile, print, and social. Digital channels include Vevo, Hulu and YouTube. And in a fun twist, it’s also including a namesake Spotify channel, with a mashup playlist. 

 “As a brand, our heritage is rooted in being a beacon of hope and optimism while also bringing people together,” says Gap CMO Craig Brommers in its release. “Uniting two superstars like Cher and Future proves that no matter how different we seem, there is always a common thread that we just might not have discovered yet.”

The Gap needs plenty of optimism these days. In the midst of a protracted turnaround attempt, last week it announced that it considers two of its brands–Old Navy and Athleta–its growth brands, and that it will step up its investments in them, opening some 270 new stores. And it’s intensifying its investments in its online and digital properties, as well. But it says it is shuttering 200 underperforming Gap and Banana Republic locations. Same-store growth hasn’t improved at flagship Gap stores for 14 quarters, and that metric has fallen for ten quarters straight at Banana Republic.