Gap’s 2026 holiday choir puts Jackson 5 on the gift list

By Tom Whitfield

Three choirs from across the United States perform Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There” in Gap’s 2026 “Give Your Gift” holiday campaign, according to Adweek. The retailer’s third campaign year pairs the 1970 tune with A Cappella Academy, Tonality and Sainted.

What changes for Gap’s 2026 campaign?

The selection continues a format Adweek described through the first two installments. In 2024, Gap’s holiday choir covered Janet Jackson’s 1990s hit “Together Again.” Last year, Miley Cyrus’ 2009 track “The Climb” received the same treatment. This year, the retailer turns to Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There.”

Adweek calls the 2026 recording a fresh take on the 1970 song and says the three choirs provide its soundtrack. The sequence spans three decades of pop: Jackson 5’s 1970 standard, Janet Jackson’s 1990s hit and Cyrus’ 2009 recording. Each year has paired a familiar song with a new holiday choir, giving the activation continuity without repeating the same selection or performers.

Takeaway: Adweek’s account shows that Gap has turned the choir into a repeatable holiday format rather than a one-year promotion.

Who is singing for Gap?

Adweek names A Cappella Academy, Tonality and Sainted as the three ensembles in the 2026 campaign. The singers wear Gap knitwear and sweats and move gently as they perform the arrangement by conductor Alexander Lloyd Blake. All three groups appear together, and the retailer’s product stays central. Blake supplies the common arrangement; the ensembles supply the visible cast.

Adweek’s description gives the campaign more scale than a single act would provide. Three vocal groups and one conductor anchor the execution, while the song choice connects the new arrangement to a 1970 catalog title. The report does not provide member counts, performance dates or choir locations beyond their spread across the country.

Takeaway: The 2026 presentation combines three ensembles, one arranger-conductor and Gap apparel in a single choir execution.

Where will shoppers encounter the campaign?

Adweek says the holiday activation will extend beyond the choir through three elements:

• NYC pop-ups.
• Gifts with purchase.
• Customization.

The pop-ups place the campaign in physical New York settings, while gifts with purchase connect it to transactions. Customization supplies the third consumer-facing extension named by Adweek. Together, the additions cover location, purchase and customization. No dates or prices accompany those details in the available account.

Takeaway: The campaign is moving from a central musical execution into stores, purchases and product options.

What is the marketing goal?

According to Adweek, Gap’s chief marketing officer said the goal is to “unite different generations.” The available account gives no audience-size, reach or sales figures for the first two campaigns, so the stated objective cannot be tested from the reported information. The execution itself brings together three decades of pop choices and three ensembles drawn from across the United States.

Gap’s third iteration carries forward the choir idea while adding NYC pop-ups, gifts with purchase and customization. Those extensions put the campaign into more consumer settings while keeping the choir as the central execution. That is the practical architecture Adweek describes: one music-led centerpiece, three retail extensions and a stated objective of joining different generations.

Takeaway: Adweek presents unification through music as the common idea, with retail extensions designed to carry it beyond the choir.

For marketers, the next test is whether Gap can convert the choir’s stated multigenerational appeal into store activity through the announced pop-ups, gifting and customization.