People Are Outraged by (Another) Gap Ad

Gap is, yet again, under scrutiny for a controversial ad. The retailer has been criticized for a new ad campaign featuring a little boy, labeled "The Little Scholar," wearing a T-shirt with Einstein's face. Next to him is a girl wearing a T-shirt that reads "The Social Butterfly." The copy for the boy reads "Your future starts here," while the copy for the girl's ad reads "Chambray shirts + logo sweaters are the talk of the playground." The campaign has started a social media firestorm for the brand, with critics calling the campaign sexist.

Total Retail's Take: In my opinion, Gap is crying wolf. Just as there's no such thing as bad publicity, there's no way this is an unintentional mistake on the retailer's part mere months after a social media uproar over another questionable ad. After slumping sales and a change of leadership at the company, is Gap looking to stay in the press amidst a difficult time? It seems to me that Gap may be taking a page out of Urban Outfitters’ playbook. My real problem is with the execution of the ad. In the original photo released, Einstein was (ironically) misspelled. Poor execution and careless copy seem a little too "clickbaity" for me. Here's hoping Gap can get it together — and soon.