Idle curiosity and excessive TV watching has caused me to wonder about the latest series of TV commercials by the Gap. Specifically, the actors dance to three songs, which sound awful familiar, but I can’t really place them. One is something about “America,”, the other seems to include two opposing dance factions shouting “crazy” and “cool,” and the third I can’t quite understand. The instrumentation would seem to place the three songs at maybe 35-45 years old, give or take a little, but otherwise I’m stumped. Any ideas as to what these pieces of music are and where they come from?
They are all from the musical “West Side Story”
Tony Soprano: We’re the only country in the world where the pursuit of happiness is guaranteed in writing… Where’s my happiness then?
Dr. Melfi: It’s the pursuit that’s guaranteed.
Tony Soprano Yeah, always a fucking loophole.
Yeah. the campaign is supposed to be West Side Story, with the 2 opposing gangs, the Sharks and the Jets replaced with the “Jeans” and the “Khakis.”
That makes sense…thanks!
And let me just say that West Side Story is the only non-Rogers&Hammerstein musical of the second half of the twentieth century worth going to for the music (Les Mis doesn’t count; that’s an opera in disguise). 
So it’s R&H musicals or nothing, huh? A clear, objective opinion no doubt! Tastes great, less filling; they proved it!
Different strokes… 
“They’re coming to take me away ha-ha, ho-ho, hee-hee, to the funny farm where life is beautiful all the time… :)” - Napoleon IV
I really shouldn’t get drawn into this, but ANNIE GET YOUR GUN has produced more standards than any one of R&H’s. And it’s silly to discount such things as MY FAIR LADY, THE PAJAMA GAME, or GUYS AND DOLLS.
“What we have here is failure to communicate.” – Strother Martin, anticipating the Internet.
Back to the OP:
The songs are, as noted by previous respondents, from West Side Story. The three numbers are “America,” “Cool,” and “Mambo.”
It’s not just the music that’s from the original show; the choreography is as it was first staged in 1960 as well. The Gap people hired one of the original cast members to recreate Jerome Robbins’s actual dance numbers; I forget his name, Alan something, but he does it for a living, traveling around the country, teaching the choreography to various stage productions and whatnot.
Pretty cool, huh? West Side Story was so far ahead of its time that the dance moves from 40 years ago still look hot, jazzy, and modern.
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Let us not forget…Bob Fosse’s “Pippin”.
If you want to kiss the sky, you’d better learn how to kneel.
So a question about “America”. The singers seem to be singing “na na na na na America” over and over again. Now, I was under the assumption that this song had words. Are they faking it because they didn’t have time to learn the words, or is there a section that goes like that?
Only you can prevent solipsism.
The line that I recall is “Everything’s free in America”
Those probably aren’t words that one wants in a commercial when trying to sell a product.
Also, it seems that all of the recent GAP commercials have either singing or dancing. It’s never really been both. They probably want to focus on one aspect or the other. By limiting the lyrics it’s puts the focus on the dancing.
Gap commercials annoy me to no end.
In the latest ones, the West Side Story ones-
Why are they doing that?
Why are people segregated according to clothing? Are they going to rumble in the next set of commercials over what they wear?
Jean or Khaki?
I’m wearing a skirt! Wear do I belong?
And the song “America”-in the musical it is sung by the Sharks- the Puerto Ricans. In the commercial I couldn’t help noticing that all the actors were “minorities” (with on or two token whites to prove that the Gap is not racist).
What is the Gap trying to say hear about racism and clothing?
The various choruses in “America”:
I like to be in America
OK by me in America
Everything free in America
For a small fee in America
Automobile in America
Chromium steel in America
Wire spoke wheel in America
Very big deal in America
Immigrant goes to America
Many hellos in America
Nobody knows in America
Puerto Rico’s in America
I like the shores of America
Comfort is yours in America
Knobs on the doors in America
Wall to wall floors in America
poring over audio recording Okay…on my copy of the WSS soundtrack, the “America” number is 4 minutes, 13 seconds long…and I’m tending to agree with Zulu.
I listened to the choruses (at 2:15, 3:08, and the end specifically); there are points where there are brass parts, followed by cast members singing “America!” But nothing with “la la la la la la America.”
Christopher Robin Hood - he steals from the rich and gives to the Pooh.
Over there with the other bad-spelling sissy boys! 
Actually, (and this may show up better in the print ad,) both groups are racially mixed and pleasing to the eye (haha). But, they may be stereotyping a bit by making the khakis seem more nerdy and “white” and the jeans being more sassy and “ethnic” which is sort of a throwback to the movie. I’m sure they’re not trying to “say” anything, and to think so is probably giving the GAP a lot more credit or scorn than it deserves.
I think it’s a brilliant campaign myself. For some perverse reason I really enjoy it.
“You guys are outta your league…You’re looking at a woman who has her own harpoon!”
Then again, some of us think it’s as cheesy, lame, and just plain old-fashioned as we did when we were forced to sit through a videotaped copy of West Side Story in high school. I honestly can’t watch these commercials without feeling really embarrassed for the dancers.
Crazy! Cool! cringe
I think it’s not that they’re trying to be racist at all - they’re trying to sell a product in a creative way that would show how much fun you would have wearing teir clothes (dripping with sarcasm). Since West Side Story appeals to a lot of the teenagers in the “cool” commericial (and I know a lot of mu friends and I LOVE the movie, and the music), then they used that as a platform to sell their clothes. The commercial also appeals to the teenagers because of the music ~ it’s a jazzy, swing, Get-up-and-dance-even-though-it’s-only-a-commercial type music.
I personally luv the commercials, even though I hate Gap’s clothing because of how standard and plain it all is…I need something bright and colorful personally - more than just khakis capri pants and a bright red shirt…but I’m sure you all didn’t need to know that.
greemie
I hope the Jeans kill those goddamned Khakis!
Pow! Zip!
%There’s gonna be a rumble tonight! The Khakis are gonna die, tonight!%
During the “dance break” of “America,” there is a part where they do sing “la la la la la America.” And that’s the section that’s in the commercial. I would assume that the Gap marketing people thought the verses to the song would A. make the commercial too long and B. detract from the visual effects, which is really what they’re going for.