Branded gift cards feature highly for consumers according to this poll.  

The poll, conducted by BK Research, found that branded gift cards were chosen more often as an item on a consumer’s shopping list than a branded toy (18%), an iPod or mp3 player (14%), a computer or laptop (12%) and a game console (7%)

Source: Payments News: Branded Gift Cards Popular With Consumers – November 06, 2006

A significant percentage of consumers will buy them.

…..  one in five consumers plans to purchase branded gift cards (a gift card with an American Express, Discover, MasterCard, or Visa brand logo) this holiday season

This should be an easy win for Banks to enter this space.  The returns ought to be high, given the balances sitting there, earning no interest.