Instant Take: GAP Restores Old Logo

I view this like the New Coke phase from back in the day. A bit of hype followed by a PR/Marketing flop and then everything will return to normal. Wish the Gap had just realized that it wasn't broke and thus, there was no need to fix it!

I can't say that the logo change made me upset, it was more a "why change the logo to something that isn't any better than the old logo?" Maybe this whole thing was just to get people to pay attention to GAP again. Now if only they'd make less bland looking clothes...

the old logo was changed to the new logo and when they reverted, they tweaked the old logo. look at the middle crossbars on an old gap bag. the G A and P middle crossbars now line up...before the "new logo change" the G crossbar was higher. Thats why they did it. you heard it here first.

Maybe this was just an evil plot to get viral attention shifted toward the brand?!... I bet they never intended to change to that silly logo (cuz like you said, who doesn't do focus group research on a change this huge?...Trust me, GAP does) 

Further, I bet the next step will be a rollout of a "classic" line in response to their loyal customer base that was guilty of the outcry (that would include all of you who fell for their viral initiative and changed your profile picture with the "craplogo app") 

Return to traditions and styles that made them famous... New COKE. Need I say more?  Desperate saturated marketing due to the power of social media calls for desperate tactics.  

So, theory is: Old Navy is doing very poorly in current market so... Old Navy enters GAP quality model...GAP enters Banana Republic Model (get it? "classic" return to "traditions and styles that made them famous" concept mentioned above) and Banana Republic becomes a whole new concept/line geared toward celebrity priced $100 Tshirts and $300 jeans. This multibrand corporation needs a "designer" brand too you know!  It is just cotton and thread after all... It's all how you market it!  I'm sure after their long brand history and hard work...they are tired of seeing companies like True Religion come in and dominate the high priced (but not so high-priced they aren't mall worthy) markets.

In the words of RUN DMC... "It's Tricky!"  End conspiracy theory.

I agree, Mike. I don't understand why people are up in arms about the change in logo. First, the logo doesn't appear on the clothes in that form, so it's not changing the product. Second, Helvetica is one of the cleanest, most loved fonts, so why was there such antipathy toward it? Finally, I'm blanking on where I saw the numbers, but only about 17% of people knew that Gap changed its logo. While I understand the importance of listening to the customers, I think this is a case of people just being averse to change and being comfortable with the old one.

I agree with you, Mike- why the need for a logo change to begin with? And if they were going to do something completely different than the original, wouldn't a test or trail be a good idea to test the reaction of consumers? I would think that would make sense...

Either way, I think the backlash towards the new logo is because it looks incredibly amateurish. As a graphic designer, the new logo reminds me of something that I would have created in my first graphic design class when I was a sophomore in college. The original Gap logo wasn't too innovative either, but it was the original logo and wasn't terrible, so why fix something that ain't broke (that's me trying to be sassy)? I think that if you're going to change your company's logo, make it bigger and better than the first one. Isn't that why you want to change it in the first place? Not to make it the same quality as the old logo, but to make it better and improve?

Your third point clearly means the most when it comes to a company's reputation: as long as style, price and location stay the same, that's all that matters.

Thanks for a thought-provoking post!

I actually tweeted this item last night: Gap has been testing the new font for a good portion of this year (at least it seems so). I have two shirts that I bought earlier this year, both with the new font on the old blue background.
First, ask any normal shopper at Gap if they knew about the logo change. I'm apt to say maybe one out of ten would. I don't think there will be any backlash. You and I agree on point number three in your post.

Good post, pal.