Gap Dumps New Logo Nobody Knew About.

Last week, Gap — that purveyor of fine khakis and such — quietly replaced their old logo of more than 20 years with a new mark on their website. Today, they are going back to the old one. In between? Backlash. Criticism. Disaster. Almost instantly, Facebook and Twitter lit up with cries of outrage (yes, about a clothing store). “You are not a computer company” posted one disgruntled shopper. To make matters worse, Gap replied to the bad reviews on its Facebook page by suggesting they would look at “crowdsourced” ideas. This meant 1) they were not committed to the new mark, even though I’m sure it cost six figures, and 2) they were asking for free ideas from designers everywhere. Problem is, designers everywhere were pretty unhappy (and very vocal about their unhappiness) with that suggestion. So, today the company cut their losses, swallowed their pride and did a u-turn. Was this a New Coke marketing disaster or a brilliant New Coke PR bonanza? Who knows … and maybe, who even cares? While the industry was all worked up, according to a poll of 1,000 consumers commissioned by Advertising Age (you know, CONSUMERS, the people who really count), 80% said they had no idea the logo had changed.