

Gap says it will keep classic logo - ssclafani
http://www.gapinc.com/public/Media/Press_Releases/med_pr_GapLogoStatement10112010.shtml

======
jtbigwoo
I have a completely unfounded theory about the Gap. :)

Through the last fifteen years their pattern has been two to four great years
followed by two disappointing years. They'll do well for several years with
basic khakis, denim, t-shirts, polos, etc. Then they'll try to stretch into
trendier, more daring fashions and have a couple poor years before going back
to basics.

I get the feeling that the kind of people who go to work at Gap, Inc. love
fashion and style and are sort-of bothered by the stodgy products they sell.
They really want to be Gucci or Ralph Lauren, but their customer base won't
let them. In the same way, I wonder if the stodgy logo chafed against their
idea of a hip, fashionable company image.

~~~
jonhendry
"They really want to be Gucci or Ralph Lauren"

Um, no. That's Banana Republic's job. Same company. Old Navy is the cheap
stuff, BR is the high end, Gap is in the middle.

~~~
jtbigwoo
I mean that the buyers, designers, etc. that are attracted to a career at a
stylish company like the Gap are, paradoxically, not particularly interested
in selling the same old staples year in and year out.

------
whalesalad
Hmm... this is a separate issue altogether but what is up with the "Gap Inc."
site? It has zero branding whatsoever... I'd have assumed it was a domain
landing page if it wasn't for the link being posted here.

~~~
ronnier
Yes, it looks like a spam/squatting site. In addition, it always turns me off
when I see sites that, when accessed by <http://www.gapinc.com>, redirect to
<http://www.gapinc.com/public/index.shtml> (or something similar).

~~~
jrockway
Why?

The URL is for the computer, not you.

~~~
gaelian
In that case, couldn't we just do away with domians and stick to IP addresses
then? At least sans IP scarcity issues. :P

------
aresant
There has yet to be a single item of collateral: a delivery truck, store
signage, or even one miserable bag that’s showed up with the new logo.

Meanwhile we’re talking about GAP on Hacker News, it’s held a spot in the top
10 in Google Trends since it showed up <http://www.google.com/trends>, and
they rallied a bunch of customers who remembered how much they like GAP just
like it is.

The cynic in me says brilliant PR stunt.

~~~
rriepe
To this day, there are people who believe that New Coke was a PR stunt. Often
viewed as one of the biggest brand disasters in history, the New Coke quagmire
actually had a great effect on Coke: It made people realize how much they
loved the stuff. It's one of the reasons they're on top today.

I don't quite agree with the statement "There's no such thing as bad
publicity." But I do feel that branding fortune favors the bold, even if
they're doing something foolish like this silly logo.

~~~
SoftwareMaven
I saw an interview with Coke's CEO at the time about new Coke. His comment was
that nobody at the company was smart enough to "plan" the new Coke fiasco.

~~~
derefr
Because it was a novel gambit at the time. Now I'd be surprised if you could
find an advertising student who couldn't explain how to execute something
similar.

------
devmonk
Questions:

\- How much money was wasted?

\- Did tons of newly printed tags on clothes need to be manually removed and
retagged?

\- Who was responsible for the creation of the new logo and who made the
decision to use it?

~~~
jcdreads
Have no doubt that by the time one of these rebrandings is announced many
truckloads of stuff has been printed. The hippie in me absolutely weeps.

------
mcargian
Wait - so after all that they are not going to milk this into some kind of
contest? They are just going to give up and walk away?

"This wasn’t the right project at the right time for crowd sourcing" - what?
Isn't that the whole point of this crazy stunt?

~~~
sp332
Most of the "crowd-sourced" reaction I heard was that they should keep their
current logo.

~~~
lanstein
If you look at the contestants, you'll see why: [http://99designs.com/logo-
design/contests/design-better-gap-...](http://99designs.com/logo-
design/contests/design-better-gap-logo-community-project-54693)

~~~
recoiledsnake
The original logo's distinctive styling makes all of those look pale in
comparison.

~~~
invisible
Most of the ones on the front page aren't the best (after skimming through for
a while). I think it is difficult to pick a winner based on voting, but there
are definitely some that are better than their original logo.

Edit: There are a few nice ones within the first ~50 of this:
<http://blog.iso50.com/logos/gap-redesign-contest/>

------
petercooper
New Coke.

------
DevX101
If it ain't broke don't fix it:

[http://flowingdata.com/2009/08/13/pepsi-and-coca-cola-
logo-d...](http://flowingdata.com/2009/08/13/pepsi-and-coca-cola-logo-design-
over-the-past-hundred-years/)

------
three14
I always assumed that the logo they put on the website was a stunt to lead
into a crowd-sourcing competition, but the crowd-sourcing part was real. It's
got all that Web 2.0 goodness. The logo they showed with the box with the
gradient could hardly have been worse, so it's hard to take seriously, but the
crowd-sourcing idea feels like a "me-too" take on following in the footsteps
of Skittles or Old Spice, trying to show they're living in the present.

I think they then saw backlash to the crowd-sourcing idea as well, and then
realized it was safer to quit while they're ahead.

------
smiler
Gap are a strange company. I personally love their cut of jeans so always buy
mine from them. I'm in the UK and until _this year_ , they did not have an
online store for the UK. I can't believe how long it has taken them to do this

------
fictorial
This must have been a stunt.

~~~
ronnier
I thought the same, but if it was a stunt would they go as far as replacing
their logo on <http://www.gap.com>

~~~
Vivtek
There's no actual expense if the only change was to replace the logo on
gap.com. Reads like "stunt" to me, too.

------
usaar333
Link to logos?

------
makeramen
thank god(s).

------
Cmccann7
Logo #FAIL

