Gap leans into dialogue as brands dodge culture wars
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Gap Inc.'s Mame Annan-Brown at Axios House. Credit: Sam Popp on behalf of Axios
At a time when other business leaders were firing employees for their reactions to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Gap Inc. CEO Richard Dickson took the opposite approach, encouraging employees to engage in open dialogue.
Why it matters: The move could have landed the apparel giant in the middle of the latest culture war.
Catch up quick: After Kirk's fatal shooting, Dickson wrote on LinkedIn, "We believe in the power of courageous conversations — especially in the gap between us."
- "We promote the idea of open dialogue and encourage people to hear and be heard. To share opinions in constructive, not divisive ways. In that spirit, we must be clear: we condemn violence in any form."
- While some CEOs offered their condolences to the Kirk family or acknowledged the tragedy, few called for more conversation in its wake.
What they're saying: "If you think about what a gap is, [it's] the space between people, ideas and dialogue," Gap chief communications officer Mame Annan-Brown said Tuesday at an Axios House event during NYC Climate Week. "When the moment happened, we decided to celebrate the idea that dialogue is important and double down on that idea because it spoke to us as a company and it speaks to bridging gaps."
- "We want to unite in conversations. It's as simple as that. It supports our purpose narrative and what we believe as a company."
Zoom out: The message was also central to Gap's now-viral ad featuring the global pop group Katseye, one of the most successful campaigns in the company's history, Annan-Brown said.
- The ad was the top-searched topic on TikTok after the launch, with more than 600 million views and 8 billion impressions.
- "It's all about driving relevance and revenue," she said.
Between the lines: The Gap ad was seen by some as a response to American Eagle's controversial ad featuring Sydney Sweeney, which came under fire for using "genes" and "jeans" as a double entendre.
- "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color," Sweeney says in the ad. "My jeans are blue."
- "Timing is everything, and I think we thought about our campaign in an isolated moment," Annan-Brown said. "Our team is brilliant, and we saw Katseye sort of gaining the momentum over months in the cultural conversation, and you know the stars aligned and we sort of were able to ride that momentum."
What's next: The apparel company plans to expand its accessory and beauty offerings as a way to meet consumer demand while also tapping into culture.
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