Fall into the—What?—Wait a Minute!
For over four decades, people have known that if they want to “fall in to The Gap” they should look for the sign on the right - the classic Gap logo.
When they were seen carrying a shopping bag with this logo, they were members of a club, advertising how hip they were and how much money they were willing to spend on how they look.
Gap has been part of our culture for long enough to be considered Americana (even though it is multinational), and American consumers are resistant to change. Unless (and even if) an incredibly ugly logo is replaced with a thing of beauty, there are going to be those who reject any perceived corporate identity change. And change is the issue. We are a nation of novelty lovers who will try anything new and luddites threatened by change.
We are confronted with conflict when we see the sign on the left - the new Gap logo.
The old Gap logo was comfortable for us, it symbolized a lifestyle and it was as American as (your choice: apple pie, Chevrolet, the American Telephone & Telegraph logo). If Gap sticks with its new logo, before long it will become just another sign on the retail landscape; everyone will have become accustomed to it, and it will become synonymous with all things Gap.
When a corporation decides to dramatically shake up the consumers’ comfort zone, it should expect people to react with discomfort. And that is exactly what’s happening with the new Gap logo. Give it time; once it establishes its identity, everyone will accept it for what it is, symbolic not artistic.
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