August 28 2026
The Gap athleisure brand’s new campaign sends a quietly loud message on reclaiming power to consumers…and its competition.
On a surface level, Athleta’s new hero spot for its My World, My Rules campaign could be mistaken as another activewear commercial shot in a faraway locale for dramatic effect.
But upon closer inspection, you discover archer Sofia Napoli, martial artist and stuntwoman Jewelianna Ramos-Ortiz, and motorsport athlete Jordan Rand are actually real-life female powerhouses authoritatively displaying their strengths and asserting their spots in historically male-dominated sports. And the Icelandic locale is not just a great backdrop to show off their unique skills and functional apparel, but also serves as a picturesque metaphor for claiming one's own narrative and power in spaces that weren't built for them.
The spot, directed by Laura Jane Coulson, does a fine job of eliciting female empowerment in quiet and intentional ways, as Sudan Archives’ “Selfish Soul” provides the anthemic musical backdrop. But what it does best is sneakily send a message that the Gap-owned brand is also decreeing its own reclamation of power in a space usually inhabited by louder brands.
