GAP

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GAP Logo

The Gap, Inc., (stylized as GAP) is an American apparel and accessory store with a global footprint.

Donald Fisher and Doris F. Fisher founded Gap in 1969, and it is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Gap (the namesake banner), Banana Republic, Old Navy, Intermix, Hill City, and Athleta are the company's six main divisions. Gap Inc. is the biggest niche retailer in the United States and ranks third globally, after Inditex Group and H&M, in terms of overall locations. The company has approximately 135,000 employees and operates 3,727 stores worldwide, 2,406 of it are located in the U.S as per September 2008.[1]

According to a post on Gap's Facebook page, on April 3rd, 2016, GAP launched a campaign in conjunction with Ellen Degeneres' lifestyle brand ED to inspire girls everywhere to be themselves.[2] The advertisement in question shows four young girls who are members of Le Petit Cirque, a traveling circus that includes boys and girls aged 5 to 14.[3] Two white girls were seen in incredible acrobatic poses in the #GapKidsxED promotional commercial, while a black girl stood passively while a third white girl using her head as an armrest.[4]

Gap Controversial Ad, 3 April 2016
Gap Ad 2015

Backlash

"Meet the kids who are proving that girls can do anything," read the caption on the frame. The photo drew immediate criticism from Twitter users:

@GapKids proving girls can do anything... unless she's Black. Then all she can do is bear the weight of White girls. #EpicFail -@TheTherapyDiva

@GapKids What is the message for Black girls? Are they meant to be seen as subordinate? Shame on you, Gap! -@eight4878

@GapKids Thanks for perfectly illustrating what 'passive racism' looks like in mainstream media. #DiversiryFail She is NOT your arm rest. 😑 -@Jmo120

@GapKids she doesn't even look happy in this photo. She's busy being treated like furniture. Subliminal Racism. -@CosmicIfe

Kirsten West Savali writes in The Root, a black culture publication, that the ad exacerbates "the sense that our black bodies are undervalued and placed to act as props upon which white bodies can be best praised and revered." For her, the negative feedback she received on social media was "valid".[5] “While all of the children are cute, and yes, all of them can grow up to be and do anything,” Kirsten West Savali continued, “it becomes troublesome when the black kid is placed to be a white child's prop.”[6]

The plot was given a different spin by a black film producer. Side by side with the latest clip, Matthew A. Cherry tweeted a photo from an old Gap marketing campaign showing a tall black girl leaning her arm on the head of a shorter white girl. He inquired, "Does the picture on the left make the picture on the right OK?"[7]

GAP Ad Replacement After the Controversy

Apology

GAP opted to replace the picture of the marketing campaign and apologized just one day after the backlash began.

In a statement, a Gap spokesperson said, "As a company with a proud 46-year legacy of championing equity and inclusivity, we respect the dialogue that has taken place and apologize to everyone we've offended." "True stories of talented girls who are celebrating artistic self-expression and expressing their messages of inspiration are included in this GapKids campaign. We've replaced the picture with a new image from the campaign, which inspires girls (and boys) all over the world to be themselves and proud of their individuality."[8]

Furthermore, it has been revealed that the two girls in the notorious pose are adoptive mothers. Brooke Smith (Ray Donovan, Grey's Anatomy) is their mother, who also went public on social media to give certain details.[9]

External Link

The ad at GAP Official Twitter
Gap older campaign at 2015 @MatthewACherry Twitter

References

  1. GAP inc.. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  2. Kim, Susanna. Gap Pulls Ad Called 'Racist,' Apologizes to Critics, ABC News, 6 April 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  3. Kell, John. Gap Apologizes for 'Racist' Ad, Entrepreneur, 5 April 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  4. Heilpern, Will.Gap has apologized over an ad for its kids clothing line that people said was racist, Business Insider, 5 April 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  5. Is this Gap advert racist?, BBC News, 6 April 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  6. Beer, Jeff. Gap Apologizes For Kids Ad Controversy, Swaps Image, Fast Company, 4 April 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  7. @MatthewACherry Twitter
  8. Kim, Susanna. Gap Pulls Ad Called 'Racist,' Apologizes to Critics, ABC News, 6 April 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  9. Beer, Jeff. Gap Apologizes For Kids Ad Controversy, Swaps Image, Fast Company, 4 April 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2020.