<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1461" title="GAP" src="/pullinc/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/GAP.gif" alt="" width="500" height="136" />
<h2>Rarely do I rant about dumb things marketers do. What do I know about anything? I wasn’t there to see or hear first hand the decisions people make about their brand building initiatives. The last time I got on this soapbox was the <a href="http://www.pullinc.com/when-change-is-not-good/" target="_blank">Tropicana</a> packaging fiasco.  I can't restrain myself from commenting on what appears to be another branding blunder–this time from the GAP!</h2>
For whatever purpose, the GAP has designed a new logo? This is another unbelievable example of mindless corporate rubbish. What on earth, were these smart minds thinking? As if changing logos was a solution to their profound problems. For nearly a decade, same store sales for the GAP brand have been declining compared to its sibling brands Banana Republic and Old Navy. GAP is an irrelevant brand that stands for nothing but cheap. With a brand new spanking logo– designed, yet again, by a fancy-pants branding and design firm– I'm sure GAP will be on its way to market dominance very soon.
<h1>Quite simply, the GAP is a badly positioned brand in a house of brands  that nobody (especially the target millenials) cares about. GAP has much more  serious issues than its logo.</h1>
My advice to the branding firm: Take your money fellas! You’ve done nothing to serve your client’s future. This is one gig you shouldn’t hurry into a case study. No amount of money will compensate for what you have so short-sightedly done to your reputation. For some amusing reading, check out the comment thread from <a href="http://adage.com/article?article_id=146326" target="_blank">Ad Age</a>. Here's the rationale (from the article) for this turd in a punch bowl:

<em><strong>Louise Callagy, a Gap spokeswoman, told Ad Age that the brand is changing and the company wanted a new logo to reflect that. "For the last two years we've been working on evolving the brand identity for Gap," she said. "[The new logo] is more contemporary and current and honors the heritage of the Gap brand with the blue box but takes it forward."</strong></em>

Pure gibberish! This kind of stuff devalues the whole idea that branding is a valuable marketing discipline. I hope there are smarter minds at GAP who will prevail before the real money gets spent implementing this generic, worse than run-of-the-mill branding effort.
<h2>That's my 2 cents. Leave me yours as a comment.</h2>