Gap's attempt to bring the nation together with a red-and-blue hoodie is backfiring spectacularly


It was only a matter of time before a brand made a very bad election tweet, and sure enough, the Gap came through on Wednesday morning. "The one thing we know is that together, we can move forward," the retailer tweeted with an accompanying photo of a Gap hoodie split down the middle with red on one side, and blue on the other:
The artificial message of unity didn't sit well, though. "A Gap hoodie is what will bring this country together," sarcastically tweeted NBC News' Olivia Solon while The Daily Beast's Molly Jong-Fast observed "the brands are at it again."
Editor Silvia Killingsworth had a slightly different takeaway: "Obviously the thing that bothers me most is the A doesn't line up across the zipper," she tweeted.
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Update 1:48 p.m. ET: Gap has removed the tweet and clarified the sweatshirt isn't actually for sale. "The intention of our social media post, that featured a red and blue hoodie, was to show the power of unity," the company said in a statement. "It was just too soon for this message. We remain optimistic that our country will come together to drive positive change for all."
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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