Gap Says Star Not Too Sexy for Its Shirts

Sarah Jessica Parker has rolled out of bed and fallen into the Gap.

Having recently ended her role as a chronicler of New Yorkers’ sexual adventures in HBO’s racy “Sex and the City” series, the 39-year-old actress will soon be appearing in ads for the apparel retailer.

And sex has nothing to do with it, the company said.

Gap Inc. tapped Parker to star in its fall and winter marketing blitz because she’s a “style icon,” not to give its namesake brand a sexier sheen, Gary Muto, president of Gap U.S., said Wednesday.

Gap, which has been criticized for alienating core customers by offering too-trendy clothes geared toward teens, is hoping the ads featuring Parker will appeal to urban sophisticates like those who took center stage in the Emmy-winning series, as well as other female shoppers.

Featured alone and with other yet-to-be-named celebrities, Parker will lend her personal pizazz to the brand by donning Gap jeans, cardigan sweaters and tweed jackets for TV spots and magazine ads.

“We basically gave her the Gap closet to shop from, and she put together her own looks to express her own individual style,” said Jeff Jones, the brand’s executive vice president of marketing.

A hallmark of Parker’s fashion sense -- on her TV show and the red carpet -- has been her devotion to couture brands, particularly expensive Manolo Blahnik stilettos. In the Gap ads, Parker will show off various looks, Jones said, from “everyday girl” to “sophisticated girl.” He also hinted that the company may draw on Parker’s real-life role as a mother of a young son, which could have a positive spillover effect on sales at GapKids and BabyGap stores. “We love the fact that she’s a mom.”

The use of celebrities to market its merchandise has long been standard practice for the San Francisco-based parent of more than 3,000 Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic stores.

Last summer, after a year of struggling to revive sales with apparel basics such as white shirts and khakis, Gap sharpened its edge by outfitting Madonna and hip-hop star Missy Elliott in customized corduroys, an integral part of the 2003 fall line. Those ads helped pull customers into Gap stores, boosting sales in last year’s third quarter. The brand posted $7 billion in revenue last year.

“We’re out to change people’s perception of what the brand is,” company President Muto said.

Gap said the Parker campaign -- slated to begin in August -- would be unique because, instead of hiring the actress for a single appearance in its ads, the firm planned to work with her on a variety of projects, although it declined to say what those would be. Gap also wouldn’t comment on how much Parker was being paid or what it was spending on the ad campaign overall.

Parker wasn’t available for comment.

Gap stock hit a 52-week high of $23.55 before closing at $23.41, up 26 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange.