• Advertising Age, Tuesday, May 27, 2008 9:30 AM

One of the most lauded TV advertisers in recent decades has found financial success after suspending its broadcast advertising. Retailer The Gap has been off the airwaves for several quarters now, focusing instead on merchandise initiatives, and profits are on the rebound.

The Gap's marketing expenditures were trimmed 18% during the previous quarter, driven by the absence of TV ads for the Gap brand, company executives said. That contributed to a 40% jump in profits compared to the same period a year ago.

"It's a waste of money [for the Gap brand to advertise right now]," said retail analyst Jennifer Black. "In this kind of an economic environment, traffic is slow anyway, and there's so much competition with advertising. ... If there was a time for them to do this, it's not that bad of a time."

Read the whole story at Advertising Age »