The Infamous Old Navy Supermodelquins
Is This Commercial Racist??? View For Yourself:
Greetings:
I sent this email tonight following an Old Navy ad shown at the 7:30 Central time slot for American Idol. Did you see the ad?
Freida
March 17, 2009
TO:
Glenn Murphy, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer,Gap Inc.
Michelle Banks, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary
and Chief Compliance Officer of Gap Inc.
Dear Executives:
My name is Freida L. Wheaton and I live in St. Louis, Missouri. Like millions of others around the globe this evening, I am watching American Idol. During the 7:30 Central time slot an "Old Navy" ad was shown. It was shocking, an affront to all women, and a particular affront to Black women, and to me personally. I would say people in general who were watching should have been outraged.
The ad depicted several animated mannequins. From my recall, there were 4 females - 3 who appeared White; and one who was Black. There were also at least one white male and a dog. At some point, a male mannequin pulled the two pieces of clothing from the Black female mannequin. Black 'cover' strips replaced the clothing such that the Black female mannequin appeared nude. The black cover strips covered the chest area and the lower hip area, That sequence happened twice, along with more than one degrading audible.
Does that kind of advertising meet with Old Navy's or your personal "belief in doing business in a socially responsible way"? Who approved release of that ad? Who was the "creative" behind the ad?
I would strongly urge that Old Navy immediately withdraw the ad from ever showing again; print an apology for the ad in the national, media - online and print -, as well as your corporate website; and investigate the development and approval of the ad as meeting FCC standards. The apology should be in the form of a press release to that list of media you would send to announce a corporate executive change, dividends, a new piece of merchandise, or "Gap Inc. Ranked #1 Retailer Among 100 Best Corporate Citizens ."
Do you know how many little Black girls were watching American Idol? How many White girls? What was the message you were trying to convey? What were you selling?
I look forward to seeing the media coverage of your apology.
I also call upon American Idol to discontinue all Old Navy ads during the balance of the 2009 season of American Idol.
EXPRESS YOURSELF!!! CONTACT OLD NAVY:
By Phone
Call 1-800-OLD-NAVY (1-800-653-6289).
You may also reach us via TDD by calling 1-800-449-4253.
By Mail
If you have questions or comments about oldnavy.com, write to
Old Navy Online
200 Old Navy Lane
Grove City, OH 43123-8605
If you have questions or comments about an Old Navy store, write to
Old Navy Customer Relations
200 Old Navy Lane
Grove City, OH 43123-8605
By Email
Please contact us via email at custserv@oldnavy.com
www.oldnavy.com
Is This Commercial Racist??? View For Yourself:
Greetings:
I sent this email tonight following an Old Navy ad shown at the 7:30 Central time slot for American Idol. Did you see the ad?
Freida
March 17, 2009
TO:
Glenn Murphy, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer,Gap Inc.
Michelle Banks, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary
and Chief Compliance Officer of Gap Inc.
Tom Wyatt , President of Old Navy
Dear Executives:
My name is Freida L. Wheaton and I live in St. Louis, Missouri. Like millions of others around the globe this evening, I am watching American Idol. During the 7:30 Central time slot an "Old Navy" ad was shown. It was shocking, an affront to all women, and a particular affront to Black women, and to me personally. I would say people in general who were watching should have been outraged.
The ad depicted several animated mannequins. From my recall, there were 4 females - 3 who appeared White; and one who was Black. There were also at least one white male and a dog. At some point, a male mannequin pulled the two pieces of clothing from the Black female mannequin. Black 'cover' strips replaced the clothing such that the Black female mannequin appeared nude. The black cover strips covered the chest area and the lower hip area, That sequence happened twice, along with more than one degrading audible.
Does that kind of advertising meet with Old Navy's or your personal "belief in doing business in a socially responsible way"? Who approved release of that ad? Who was the "creative" behind the ad?
I would strongly urge that Old Navy immediately withdraw the ad from ever showing again; print an apology for the ad in the national, media - online and print -, as well as your corporate website; and investigate the development and approval of the ad as meeting FCC standards. The apology should be in the form of a press release to that list of media you would send to announce a corporate executive change, dividends, a new piece of merchandise, or "Gap Inc. Ranked #1 Retailer Among 100 Best Corporate Citizens ."
Do you know how many little Black girls were watching American Idol? How many White girls? What was the message you were trying to convey? What were you selling?
I look forward to seeing the media coverage of your apology.
I also call upon American Idol to discontinue all Old Navy ads during the balance of the 2009 season of American Idol.
EXPRESS YOURSELF!!! CONTACT OLD NAVY:
By Phone
Call 1-800-OLD-NAVY (1-800-653-6289).
You may also reach us via TDD by calling 1-800-449-4253.
By Mail
If you have questions or comments about oldnavy.com, write to
Old Navy Online
200 Old Navy Lane
Grove City, OH 43123-8605
If you have questions or comments about an Old Navy store, write to
Old Navy Customer Relations
200 Old Navy Lane
Grove City, OH 43123-8605
By Email
Please contact us via email at custserv@oldnavy.com
www.oldnavy.com
1 comment:
You're just ridiculous...That wasn't racist at all...Get a life...I'm so tired of people like you claiming that everyone's out to get them and everything's an attack against you...GET OVER YOURSELF!!!
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