How Gap Became Cool Again with Fabiola Torres | Live from the Tubi Cabana at Cannes Lions

**Fabiola Torres** (0:00)
But you want to be the cool kid in the classroom. And if you want to be the cool kid in the classroom, you don't have to claim to be the cool kid. You just have to earn it. So the thing is how you actually play, and when do you become like not retro, but modern, and not old, but new, and how do you actually measure? That's the reason we featured Cat's Eye. They were between 17 to 21 year old. They never heard about milkshake, and it had like 800 million impressions.

**Jim Stengel** (0:30)
Hi, I'm Jim Stengel. I've helped hundreds of major brands discover and activate their purpose. Because when a brand's purpose is clear, compelling, and authentic, profit naturally follows. Each week, I welcome the CMOs, the chief marketing officers of your favorite brands, to speak to how their job is so much more than marketing. These leaders share their inspiration and challenges, along with how they try to build a full, healthy, and happy life in and out of the office. And it's that energy that reaches everyone they touch. And we're glad you're here to feel that energy and to learn from these remarkable leaders. So here we go. Welcome to a special bonus episode as we're continuing our series of conversations captured at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity last month in the south of France. This one comes from the Tubi Cabana, where I had the opportunity to sit down in front of a live audience with Fabiola Torres, chief marketing officer of Gap. Even with the hot summer sun toasting us and a stiff breeze from the sea, Fabiola gave a cool tutorial on brand building. Over the past two years, Fabiola has helped lead one of the most talked about brand revitalizations in marketing. After leadership roles at Nike where she spent almost 19 years, Apple and PepsiCo, Fabiola joined Gap in May 2024 to help reimagine it for a new generation. With the incredible view of the Mediterranean behind us, tune in as Fabiola and I dive into what it really takes to turn around legacy brand and why great partnerships with talent begin with relationships, not transactions. This is my conversation with the CMO who loves to find new and interesting ways to be creative. Here's Fabiola.
Hi, everyone. Good afternoon. How's everyone doing? Day one of Cannes so far so good.
Have you met anyone extraordinary other than my guest so far?
Yeah. Well, we have Fabiola Torres here, Gap CMO.
One of the most extraordinary brand renewals, I think, we've seen in a long time, and we're going to talk about that. But the first thing I want to do is welcome Fabiola to join us on day one of Cannes. You are on stage in the Palais later today, right?

**Fabiola Torres** (2:43)
Yes.

**Jim Stengel** (2:43)
So what are you doing?

**Fabiola Torres** (2:45)
I'm judging young lions, young lions, yeah.

**Jim Stengel** (2:48)
Okay. So why do you like doing that?

**Fabiola Torres** (2:50)
Well, I got a really interesting invitation, and it's always good to see new work, creative work and young, creative people. So I'm super, super excited and bested to be there with them.

**Jim Stengel** (3:01)
Outstanding. Now, do you have any work submitted this year for lions?

**Fabiola Torres** (3:05)
Yes, we're shortlisted.

**Jim Stengel** (3:07)
Excellent. Congratulations.

**Fabiola Torres** (3:08)
Thank you.

**Jim Stengel** (3:09)
So what is the work that you shortlisted?

**Fabiola Torres** (3:11)
It's Better in Denim with Cat's Eye. I don't know if anybody heard about it.

**Jim Stengel** (3:17)
Congratulations on all of that. How many canned lions have you been to?

**Fabiola Torres** (3:21)
This is my fourth.

**Jim Stengel** (3:22)
Fourth, okay. Why do you enjoy it?

**Fabiola Torres** (3:25)
It's just seeing old friends, meeting new friends, seeing the work. I think a lot of us have so many meetings and so many commitment that sometimes we forget to see the work. So I will invite you to see the work to make sure that we are aware of globally what is being done, and how we set the bar higher.

**Jim Stengel** (3:45)
Yeah. Outstanding. Now, I want to get right into, your career path is just amazing. So I assume everyone in the audience loves building brands or you wouldn't be here. So your career path is, it's like a dream. You have Nike for 18, 19 years, right? Apple following that, Pepsi, now Gap.
And I've heard you say when you arrived at Gap, you felt like it was home.

**Fabiola Torres** (4:12)
Yes.

**Jim Stengel** (4:13)
Can you say more about that?

**Fabiola Torres** (4:15)
Well, you know, Gap has been a below brand for everyone, for every generation. And as my CEO says all the time, the brand was resting for a while. So when you feel like you can add value, you can meet the team where they are and feel like you can help to make it to the next level and bring it back. I didn't know at that time if it was possible, but I'm a little bit of a risk taker. I like the challenges and I love how Richard Dixon was bringing such a new perspective as a brand guy.