Is the new Gap logo the New Coke of clothing?
This week, the retail giant Gap introduced a spiffy new logo. Instead of the elongated G-A-P in a blue box that has become the recognized symbol for the store and shopping bags around the globe, the new logo is in black letters with the blue box shrunk to the top right of the name. It went over as well as acid wash denim. The Gap-lash was so strong that the company’s president, Marka Hansen, took to the Huffington Post to further explain the logo makeover. Writing that the brand is changing to be more modern like the clothes, “rethinking our logo is part of aligning with that.” The company is now calling for (better?) customer ideas on Facebook and to keep the “passionate” comments coming. This one from a Facebook commenter is typical: “By changing it, you’ve completely destroyed what it took 20-plus years to build.” The logo seems in danger of heading into the bad-idea territory of “New Coke,” which bombed when introduced in 1985. The retailer is now said to be rethinking the change.
