Read the room, social media managers. The retailer Gap has come under fire online after tweeting an animated GIF of a branded hoodie half in blue and half in red, along with the caption: “The one thing we know, is that together, we can move forward.”
In the midst of the most intense and heated Presidential race most of us are likely to live through, irate Twitter users (likely camped out on the site and ‘doom scrolling’ for the past 24 hours) are demanding, “Why did [Gap] feel it was best suited to calm a nation on edge in the first place?”
After attracting countless negatives comments—and racking up 700,000 views—the person operating Gap’s Twitter account eventually deleted the post. According to The New York Times business/retailer reporter Sapna Maheshwari, the garment isn’t even a product that’s available to buy.
Gap has now deleted this tweet. A spokesperson told me that it was not a real hoodie for sale. pic.twitter.com/CDV18Zaz48
— Sapna Maheshwari (@sapna) November 4, 2020
And while the offending tweet may be scrubbed from the internet, the screenshots live on and Gap quickly began trending—for all the wrong reasons.
Here’s what people had to say about it.
Now is really not the time @gap for this corporate Karen bullshit. A coup attempt is not a fucking marketing opportunity to push product. pic.twitter.com/w2KTHu3e97
— Christopher Wylie 🏳️🌈 (@chrisinsilico) November 4, 2020
You monsters made GAP delete a tweet that encouraged people to move forward together?
No matter who wins, this insanity isn't going anywhere. pic.twitter.com/9Md7JLkeiA
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) November 4, 2020
This Tweet from the Gap wasn't just a spur of the moment post from a social media manager who couldn't read the room.
It went through layers of approval & was put on a content calendar for today.
They were going to post this regardless of the results.
And that makes it even worse pic.twitter.com/BPDxE4qlgz— Jon-Stephen Stansel (@jsstansel) November 4, 2020
thanks @gap i’m gonna wear this on the battlefield in the civil war to symbolize how we should all be getting along better pic.twitter.com/vWUbo8aSzb
— joshua rush (@JoshuaRush) November 4, 2020
I was feeling pretty down about how divided our country is until Gap tweeted that half blue, half red hoodie. Thank you @Gap
— Matt Easley (@Matt_Easley50) November 4, 2020
COPYWRITER: so I was thinking about Gap and how we can–
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: take a shot of a blue and red hoodie and say "united we stand" pic.twitter.com/n0lSLMxBwf
— dolphin pilot (@TheAmitie) November 4, 2020
The Gap’s head of hoodie design rn like pic.twitter.com/L1EHaKo9fu
— Diego Lopez (@thisdiegolopez) November 4, 2020
Gap was about to solve the deep divisions that exist in this country with a hoodie. https://t.co/ZKQDklu0Ys
— Aaron Karpie (@AaronKarpie) November 4, 2020
Gap deleted that hideous hoodie. Poor-timing and polarizing take aside, the message and was undercut by the poorly executed, misaligned A, and they missed a perfect tag line about "Bridging the Gap." Pure laziness all around.
— 𝓙𝓪𝔃𝔃 🦋 (@bleuangel88) November 4, 2020
*quickly unzipping my blue and red GAP hoodie so no one in the Zoom sees it*
— Alex Watt (@AlexanderWatt) November 4, 2020
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