Gildan To Use Debut Super Bowl Commercial To Hype Activewear Line

Apparel company Gildan today will announce that it will air a spot during Super Bowl XLVII on CBS, marking the “first time the brand has advertised” in the game, according to Stuart Elliott of the N.Y. TIMES. The spot is “scheduled for the third quarter,” and will feature Gildan Activewear. The commercial, from DeVito/Verdi, N.Y., is called "Getaway" and is “part of the first campaign for clothing like T-shirts, underwear and hoodies bearing the Gildan brand and being stocked by chains that include Kmart, Kohl’s, Shopko, Target and Walmart.” Gildan Retail VP/Marketing & Merchandising Rob Packard said, “We’re stepping up every facet of our marketing to develop a national brand presence.” He added that the Super Bowl appeals to Gildan “because the campaign is being aimed primarily at younger consumers in the so-called millennial generation.” DeVito/Verdi President Ellis Verdi said that “given how costly a Super Bowl spot is, ‘it makes a lot of sense’ to begin publicizing it early.” Elliott reports among the ways DeVito/Verdi and Gildan “will try that are a pair of initiatives on Facebook, including one that will let people insert photos of themselves or their friends in a scene of the commercial, paid search ads, banner ads and preroll ads that appear before online videos.” Gildan also hopes to "whet appetites for the Super Bowl commercial with two spots, ‘Fire’ and ‘Rollercoaster,’ that strike a similar chord” to “Getaway.” Packard said it is likely the company will run one of those ads during Saturday's Gildan New Mexico Bowl on ESPN (N.Y. TIMES, 12/12).