The Gap's hilariously bad unity sweatshirt accidentally unites people who hate it
Not now, The Gap.
For the love of God, just not now.
Look at this (now-deleted) tweet calling for unity, and for moving forward together. The hoodie is half red and half blue to unite the political parties, get it, get it, ahh how clever, how smart.
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Meanwhile, we're all waiting around, during a pandemic, nervous as hell for what happens next. The president of the United States is frantically making false claims in an effort to undermine the legitimacy of election results he doesn't like. Pardon my French, The Gap, but that's some bonkers shit and I really don't need a hokey call for unity or a thinly veiled plea to buy your hoodies. I wasn't alone in my feelings. Lots of on Twitter weren't pleased with The Gap's tweet.
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This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
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This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
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People also pointed out that even the design of the hoodie was kind of dumb.
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This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
During the writing of this article, The Gap seemingly wizened up to the fact that people really didn't like their post. The tweet was deleted. Gap told the New York Times that the sweatshirt was not actually for sale.
It told the paper: "The intention of our social media post, that featured a red and blue hoodie, was to show the power of unity. It was just too soon for this message. We remain optimistic that our country will come together to drive positive change for all.”
But the whole thing gets at a bigger truth: Brands — our dear stupid brands — you don't have to post right now. There's no law requiring you to make some mealy mouthed, bland, aggressively nonpartisan statement. Just shut up and let us fret.
Tim Marcin is an Associate Editor on the culture team at Mashable, where he mostly digs into the weird parts of the internet. You'll also see some coverage of memes, tech, sports, trends, and the occasional hot take. You can find him on Bluesky (sometimes), Instagram (infrequently), or eating Buffalo wings (as often as possible).
