‘Together, we can move forward’: Gap sparks backlash with a tone-deaf election tweet the retailer was forced to hastily delete

• “The one thing we know, is that together, we can move forward,” Gap tweeted on Wednesday morning, in reference to a presidential election that remains too close too call.
• The tweet sparked backlash on social media, as critics slammed the brand for the tone-deaf post amid the polarizing election.  
• Gap deleted the tweet about an hour after it was posted. 
• Gap is attempting to run an apolitical but “of-the-moment” holiday advertising campaign, Business Insider’s Madeline Stone reported earlier this week. 
• “It’s really the idea around standing united, whatever you stand for,” Mary Alderete, chief marketing officer of Gap, told Business Insider. “That harmony can really only be achieved when different voices all come together as one.”
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Gap is facing backlash on Twitter, after a now-deleted tweet referencing the election was slammed for being tone deaf. 

“The one thing we know, is that together, we can move forward,” Gap tweeted on Wednesday morning. The tweet features a gif of a half blue, half red sweatshirt being zipped up. 

When the tweet was posted, the presidential election was too close to call, with either candidate having a chance at winning the race. According to Insider and Decision Desk HQ, eight critical states are set to determine the next president of the US. 

Coming just hours after President Trump attempted to falsely declare victory, such an optimistic message felt extremely tone deaf for many on social media. 

—Jasmine (@JasmineLWatkins) November 4, 2020

—amy (@arb) November 4, 2020

—ryan carey-mahoney 😷 (@thegoodcarmah) November 4, 2020

—chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) November 4, 2020

 

Within an hour of the tweet being posted, it had been quote-tweeted nearly 4,000 times, almost entirely by people criticizing Gap. For comparison, the tweet had less than 100 retweets sans commentary. 

—Veronica Belmont (@Veronica) November 4, 2020

—Sara Benincasa (@SaraJBenincasa) November 4, 2020

—Paul F. Tompkins (@PFTompkins) November 4, 2020

The brand deleted the tweet roughly an hour after it was posted, at around 12:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Gap did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment. 

Gap’s message of apolitical unity is a key part of its 2020 holiday campaign. Earlier this week, Business Insider’s Madeline Stone reported that the retailer is running a holiday TV spot showing people holding up signs with positive messages, such as “hope,” “inspiration,” “cozy,” and “community.” 

Read more: Shoppers are ok with pro-vote messaging, but they’ll boycott a brand that gets too political. Here’s how Gap’s CMO stays neutral but of-the-moment.

“It’s really the idea around standing united, whatever you stand for,” Mary Alderete, chief marketing officer of Gap, told Business Insider. “That harmony can really only be achieved when different voices all come together as one.”

Alderete said in the interview that Gap is not trying to make a political statement with its ads. 

“Gap has always been known for its ability to bridge cultures and generations, and we wanted to come back and do that unity message,” Alderete said.