Labeled as "the most important election in recent history," it is no surprise that time and attention are be paid to voting. The new Gap "Vote For ____" campaign addresses individual reasons for committing this very act. Directed by Superfad, the spots feature such noted individuals as Norman Lear, Bill Maher and the Cool Kids, with animated line drawings that expressively illustrate their unique points of view.
"Gap and its agency CAA sought to visually express the very personal beliefs, causes and ideas behind why people vote," explained Superfad Director Justin Leibow. "The featured product was literally and figuratively a blank slate: A T-Shirt that engaged you to fill in the blank area with your own cause. The online campaign is a complement to the T-Shirt initiative and the live action I was asked to direct evolved out of the long lineage of amazing Gap spots. The canvas here is the signature Gap white environment surrounding the showcased public figures."
With this in mind, Superfad crafted a white limbo world that would reveal the scale of the stage and ground the talent in a tangible space. Within this space developed very specific performances and postures for each individual. In that way, each spot would be connected to the next while allowing for personalization, both via performance and the applied animation.
"The design and animation, simply put, was inspired by the Sharpie," revealed Leibow. "Every single element of our artwork would be hand drawn in order to equate these with expressions that one might make with a marker on their own T-shirt."
Superfad forged that path by cel animating the drawings and imbuing them with all the charm and imperfections that are inherent in the DIY nature of drawing on fabric. Additionally, Superfad applied different illustration styles to each of the 10 commercials as the visual voices of a diverse group of talent.
"This campaign is focused on getting the public engaged and encouraged to vote and we took that as its most important mandate," concluded Leibow. "Partnering with CAA and GAP is a great privilege and we took this very fun project seriously with the hope it inspires the intended result."
Credits
Featured Talent:Kristen BellPerez HiltonJohn PicardBill MaherMinka KellyCool KidsNorman LearOlivia MunnMark CubanCameron Sinclair
Agency: CAAProducer: Mathew BijarchiCreative Director: Jesse CoulterArt Director: Ben JamesCopywriter: Andrew Ault
Independent Co-Director: Jeski Takaharo
Production/Animation: SuperfadEP: Kevin BattenCreative Director/Co-Director: Justin LeibowProducer: Danielle HazanDesigners/Animators: Justin Leibow, Adam Greene, Clarice Chin, Miles Kinghorn, Jimmy Thompson, Dylan Spears
Editorial: Final CutEditor: JD SmythAssistant Editor: Jacob KuehlExecutive Producer: Saima AwanProducer: Kelly Garcia
Music: Asche and SpencerExec Producer: Carol Dunn
Telecine: Co3Colorist: Stephan Sonnenfeld.
