Sometimes companies don't think through the ramifications of their actions. While over-analysis can lead to paralysis, it might be helpful to conduct a little bit of analysis before launching a product.
The Gap depends upon continuous sales from younger purchasers, and therefore it needs to be trendy. (Since I am not trendy, I have never purchased from The Gap.) Take a look at one of the company's recent product campaigns:
Gap has created an exclusive menswear collection with GQ's best new designers.
Mark McNairy turns classic America sportswear on its ear. Military, workwear, and athletic influences mesh in his rebellious and playful collections.
Now I don't know Mark McNairy from Mark McGrath, but if McNairy is mentioned in the same breath as both The Gap and GQ, then corporate America apparently looks upon him as a trendsetter. And here's what this trendsetter has produced.
I'd be willing to bet that a large number of The Gap's target audience members have never heard of the phrase "Manifest Destiny" before. For Gap customers outside of the United States, it wouldn't have any relevance. And even for Gap customers within the United States, it might not mean anything.
For those who don't remember the phrase, it first appeared in 1845:
The anonymous author, thought to be its editor John L. O'Sullivan, proclaimed "our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our multiplying millions."
This phrase symbolized American activities in northern Mexico, the Oregon-Washington area, and even Alaska. But eventually...
Gradually, the phrase became seen as a cover for imperialism and political support has died out.
Until the arbiters of fashion decided it was cool again.
Now there are some naysayers that are standing in the way of fashion, as you can see at change.org:
GAP is selling a black shirt with the words "MANIFEST DESTINY" written on it. This article of clothing promotes a belief that has resulted in the mass genocide of indigenous people, and it serves to normalize oppression. This shirt is marketed to teens and young adults, and it gives no context for the racism and inequality that persists in our society, to this day, as a result of this doctrine. We are asking that this shirt be discontinued, and that an apology be issued.
At the time that I viewed this petition, nearly 1,000 people had signed it.
Nearly 1,000 people with no sense of fashion.
Don't these people realize that McNairy has been profiled in GQ and has offered these scintillating words of fashionable wisdom? (And yes, I removed one of McNairy's scintillating words.)
HAVE FUN. LIFE IS SHORT. WHO GIVES A [removed] ABOUT CHROME EXCEL, THE THREAD COUNT ON YOUR SHIRT, WHETHER YOUR SUIT JACKET IS FULL OR HALF CANVASSED OR FUSED; OR IF YOUR TROUSERS ARE A LEFT HAND OR RIGHT HAND TWILL.
Incidentally, McNairy subsequently explained his all caps presentation: "I cannot type."
Well, perhaps I can become trendy too, and then I can be interviewed in GQ and other publications. So Mr. McNairy, I'm providing you with a few more slogans that you can use on trendy t-shirts. And you only have to pay me a 30% royalty.
FINAL SOLUTION
HOMELAND
EVERYBODY WANG CHUNG TONIGHT
Am I now a trendy fashion designer also?
P.S. To set the record straight, here is what McNairy has said about this slogan, which he says is his favorite from his t-shirts:
[The slogans] are all things from my life. I learned about Manifest Destiny not from a history lesson at school but from the title of a punk-rock album in high school.
The album in question came from The Dictators. I guess we should be relieved that McNairy didn't design a t-shirt based on the Dead Kennedys anthem "Kill the Poor."
P.S. H/T to Anika Malone for alerting me to the petition cited above.
