Mary Alderete took on the role of GAP’s CMO in February 2020. Yes, a brief moment before a global pandemic changed every possible plan. Still, from our vantage point, it seems like she’s been nailing it. Despite everything. Watching her brand maneuvers this insane year, and the GAP stock’s performance has been inspiring.

And now she’s got a thing with Cancel Culture. And it needs to be discussed because is a real thing. A real thing that many people hate, and rightfully so. Hey, it’s the one thing Barak Obama and Donald Trump seem to be agreeing on.

It is deserving of the criticism it’s getting. It can easily get out of control. And it could be dangerous. Like an autoimmune disease, it hurts good folks, too—completely undeserving people (and brands). The CC (Cancel Culture) crusaders may cast them off as meaningless collateral damage. But the damage is real.

And a couple of days ago, Alderte’s brand GAP became the latest big-name victim of CC. As per usual, Twitter was used as the town’s square in which the self-inflamed, echo-chambered mob gathered to do what CC does best: ignore the substance, ignore the context, ignore the message, ignore the intention, and not let anything stand in the way of the champions of self-righteousness on their way to the next sacrifice to be sent to the gods from the alter of sanctimonious.

And all because of this post below:

Yes, all the rage – over this November 4th post, that went up while America was deep in a state of overbearing stress, trying to balance the nail-biting anticipation of the election results with President Trump’s first post-election-day anti-democratic speech.

And that was enough for the Twitter army.

The response was so harsh, GAP had to remove the tweet and apologize.

I repeat: REMOVE THE TWEET AND APOLOGIZE.

For saying something, Joe Biden said to roaring applause just three days later.

Apologizing. For calling for unity.

Yes, I know it’s complicated. We talked about this matter’s complexity here on PostFunnel many times before. On one side, brands are expected to take a stand, which is tricky enough. On the other, when they choose to take a more middle-of-the-road, bipartisan stand, they may come across as opportunistic and phony. As if the brand is only saying something for the sake of saying something. And that they use it only to boost sales.

So, first: can someone please tell me what’s wrong with having some people and brands advocating for middle-of-the-road agendas?

And, second — this just in: EVERYTHING A COMPANY DOES IS TO INCREASE REVENUE.

Shocking. I know. Oh, and there is no Santa. Sorry you had to find out that way.

Yes, even when a brand is taking an unequivocal, strong stand over political or social issues, it’s only after they decided it’s in their business’ best interest. And that’s good! That’s how we want it be. Because that’s the only way, WE THE PEOPLE CUSTOMERS, can have power over brands. This is how we hold them accountable.

We want fast fashion to be greener? It’s our purchase power that can make it happen. They will only be greener if they know it benefits their clientele, which means people will buy with them. That’s the equation.

Some brands will take this side. Others will take the other. And a few will take the middle. It’s only natural. And a healthy discourse needs all sides.

What it does not need at all is people burning virtual hoodies because someone advocated unity. That’s just insane.

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