• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, March 2, 2022

Ever feel like TikTok is full of the frisky folks who look and move like they just fell out of an Old Navy dance number? Apparently, Old Navy feels the same way.

The company is introducing a new campaign, which is meant “to celebrate internet culture.”

The Gap-owned brand says the campaign, created by the Martin Agency, grew from a TikTok post, predicting that Bruno Mars’ funky “Fly As Me” might lead to “the most fire Old Navy commercial ever.”

It says hundreds of other TikTok people commented, making suggestions for other elements, from the generic (like “Dancing dads”) to the strangely specific, such as “old lady who runs a bodega.”

A spokesperson for Old Navy says the Martin Agency concepted the campaign, called “Written by the Internet.”

The agency “acted as the creative glue to stitch the comments together into an entertaining spot,” she says. “It was important to us to visibly credit our co-creators by showing their TikTok usernames and comments as they originally appeared on the platform.”

Old Navy also compensated the commenters as freelance writers.

The spot is running in prime-time TV, morning and late night shows and Spanish-language channels, as well as 25 cable networks, including Bravo, E!, BET and HGTV. It’s also set to appear in 30 digital video partners, including Peacock, HBOMax and Hulu, and be distributed on social media platforms.

Critics might argue that listening to the internet isn’t always a good idea. (Remember the infamous Boaty McBoatface debacle of 2017?) They also might say that if fans can so easily rattle off images for an Old Navy ad, it might be time for the brand to do something less predictable.

The company disagrees. “Old Navy has long played in pop culture through our advertising, and we are inviting our fans to continue that work with us as co-creators in a fun, optimistic and authentic way,” the spokesperson says. “This campaign gives consumers unprecedented access to collaborate with us. Through the democratic nature of the Internet, anyone with love for the brand can lend their voice to our advertising.”

The company says the campaign is scheduled to take on different iterations throughout the year.

While Old Navy has been one of the few bright spots in Gap Inc.’s struggling portfolio, comparable sales fell 9% in its most recent quarterly results, although they notched an 8% gain compared to 2019 results. And the company says the launch of its BODEQUALITY initiative, drastically increasing the number of sizes it offers, doubled the number of extended-size customers in the quarter -- 15% of whom are new to the brand.

Gap, which is scheduled to release its earnings this week, is struggling. Gap has had “years of inconsistent results,” writes David Swartz, an analyst who follows the company for Morningstar. He says Old Navy is the largest individual apparel brand by retail sales in the U.S,. and a solid business.

But it faces considerable competition in the discount apparel space from Amazon, other ecommerce businesses and outlet stores, as well as discounters like Ross Stores.