Gap - a great shop and, until recently, good advertising. So what
has gone wrong? To me it has simply taken this American thing too
far.
The campaign for Christmas features the headlines ’Baby. That’s Holiday’
and ’Cheers. That’s Holiday’.
So what is Holiday?
Holiday is the US terminology for Christmas. I know this from experience
with another US-based retailer. When the Christmas campaign was briefed,
they demanded research to prove that we actually called Christmas
’Christmas’ and not Holiday.
I understand the need to be politically correct since Christmas is a
religious festival not relevant to the entire population of Britain.
However, I am convinced that the end-of-year break is called Christmas
by pretty much everyone in the UK, irrespective of belief.
Certainly, UK-based retailers have no problem banging on about Christmas
gift ideas and decorating ads with holly, and I assume they are trying
to sell across racial and cultural boundaries.
If you are a guest in someone else’s country, you respect their
traditions and language - even if you do not believe it yourself. So why
are the Yanks so arrogant as to think that they can do it in the UK just
the way they do it at home?
Yes, Gap has given us new standards in customer service, even if it is a
bit too in your face. Yes, it has given us good quality clothes at a
reasonable price. But meddling with Christmas - you go too far Gap! (Oh,
and irrespective of terminology, the ads are crap too.)
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