Shine OnGap responds to racist vandalism of its NYC subway ad
Gap is receiving praise for responding swiftly to the racist vandalism of one of its New York City subway advertisement.
A poster featuring Sikh-American fashion designer Waris Ahluwahlia wearing a turban and standing next to model Quentin Jones was defaced with racist remarks. The vandal crossed out "Make Love" and replace it with "Make Bombs." They also wrote "Please stop driving taxis" under the ad's caption.
Gap acted quickly after they were altered to the ad on Sunday via Twitter by Arsalan Iftikhar, the senior editor at The Islamic Monthly.
"When I first saw my Facebook friend's photo of this GAP subway advertisement defaced by vandals with racist messages, I wanted the world to see how millions of brown people are viewed in America today," Iftikhar tells Huffington Post.
The next day, Gap privately asked Iftikhar for details about its location and then promptly removed the offending ad -- which is part of its holiday #MakeLove campaign, intended to showcase diverse models.
Gap then used the ad image as its profile picture on Twitter, which garnered immediate support from followers who praised the fashion giant for its fast response.
"Now I love the #MakeLove ad campaign even more. The amazing way Gap responded to racist graffiti," tweets Lauren Krueger.
The ad campaign had already received warm praise from members of the Sikh community with a "Thank you, Gap" Facebook page expressing gratitude for the use of a Sikh model.
What are your thoughts on the vandalism of the ad and Gap's response? Tell us in the comments below.
