Beyond just the music, LL COOL J has always been a blessing to the culture, and this story is proof of it.

The Famous Gap Commercial

During his famous 1997 GAP commercial, the hip-hop heavyweight not only name-dropped the legendary FUBU brand, but he brought some serious visibility to the GAP brand at the same d*mn time.

“He’s a true understanding of the influence of GAP,” said FUBU co-founder and Shark Tank extraordinaire Daymond John in a video shared on Twitter. “GAP calls him up for a commercial. They don’t care that he can wear a FUBU hat, they don’t even know what FUBU is.”

Making A Statement

But, for LL COOL J, it was more than just sporting the hat, he wanted to make a statement, literally.

“All of a sudden he slips, ‘For Us By Us’ in the commercial,” John continues. “We couldn’t make enough product.”

The Effect

What he means is that because of this moment, FUBU merchandise flew off the shelves.

In fact, because of the commercial, kids began to enter GAP stores looking for FUBU products. It was then that the company discovered what had happened and pulled the commercial off of the air. That was until they realized that it helped them not only reach their intended audience but in a way that superseded their expectations.

“They spent $30 million on the commercial,” John explains. “They pull the commercial, but then all of a sudden, they find out the target market they were trying to hit increased [by] 300 percent because the kids thought they could get FUBU at the GAP.”

History Was Made

From there, the rest was history.

“GAP blows up, FUBU blows up, LL COOL J remains the superstar who slips FUBU in the GAP commercial,” said John.