Madonna to star in Gap's fall ad campaign

NEW YORK (AP) _ Madonna will be the new face for Gap's fall multimillion dollar ad campaign. <br><br>Gap's spokeswoman, Claudia Hawkins, would give few details Tuesday on the campaign, set to break

Tuesday, July 15th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Madonna will be the new face for Gap's fall multimillion dollar ad campaign.

Gap's spokeswoman, Claudia Hawkins, would give few details Tuesday on the campaign, set to break July 28, other than to say it also features hip-hop star Missy Elliott.

Over the past several years, Gap has enlisted a diverse group of celebrities in its advertising, including India.Arie, Lisa Marie Presley, Christina Ricci, Anjelica Huston and Dennis Hopper. But experts believe signing the pop star is the biggest coup yet for the retailer.

``This is the coolest idea. Madonna has kept her image fresh,'' said Mike Toth, president and chief creative director for Toth Brand Imaging, a brand and advertising company with offices in New York and Concord, Mass.

Toth said Madonna will resonate well with the group that the chain wants to bring back to its stores _ shoppers in their 30s and early 40s.

Madonna, 44, hasn't done a lot of commercials for products. She endorsed Pepsi in 1989, but the soft drink giant dropped her over the religious images in her video ``Like a Prayer.'' She also did an ad campaign for Max Factor in Europe.

Why is she now the face for Gap? ``Why not Gap?'' Rosenberg asked, noting that Madonna wears the clothes.

She is also set to do some tie-ins with Gap to promote her children's book, ``The English Roses,'' due out Sept. 15. Rosenberg declined to offer details.

Madonna released her latest album, ``American Life,'' earlier this year, but it was a commercial and critical disappointment; it has sold just over 500,000, a sharp decline from the multiplatinum albums she has produced in her two-decade career.