Monday, 07 December 2009
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Christmas Advertising Spurs Controversy
In November, the AFA called for faithful Christians to boycott GAP and all its offshoots in response to their holiday ad campaign, which failed to feature Christmas prominently enough. The AFA's statement:Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic, the three stores owned by San Francisco-based Gap Inc., are being targeted by AFA in a limited two-month boycott over the company’s failure to use the word “Christmas” in its advertising to Christmas shoppers.Gap has refused to use the word Christmas in its television commercials, newspaper ads and in-store promotions despite tens of thousands of consumer requests to recognize Christmas as well as repeated requests from AFA to do the same.
In response, GAP created an ad that specifically mentions Christmas ahead of other holidays.
Needless to say, the AFA wasn't entirely pleased with this ad, as it does mention Christmas, but also such pagan celebrations as the winter solstice. The AFA posted:Here is Old Navy's "Merry Christmas" ad:According to Bill Chandler, vice-president of Gap corporate communications, Gap’s Old Navy division will launch a new television commercial this weekend …which “has a very strong Christmas theme.” Chandler responded to AFA last Friday, after a poll showed 90% of AFA supporters wanted to continue the boycott as a result of Gap’s initial “holiday” ad that mingled Christmas with the pagan’s “Winter Solstice” holiday.
Gap says the new ad will include the popular Supermodelquins proudly cheering “Merry Christmas,” and features Christmas trees, lights and ornaments as well.
In good faith, AFA is suspending the Gap boycott until it has an opportunity to view the new commercial this weekend.
As a result of your dedicated actions, we believe Gap is beginning to realize that Christmas is not just another “holiday” and will begin to advertise in a way that is respectful to Christians and Christmas shoppers.
This inclusion (an edit to the already recorded advertisement) was apparently enough to placate the AFA, who called off the GAP boycott. In their statement, they praised the activists of AFA who observed the boycott and wrote letters to the retailers, sayingThanks to your involvement, retailers are listening - and they are changing the way they do business!
In our ongoing effort to encourage other companies to recognize Christmas, your AFA has sent certified letters to Best Buy and Dick's Sporting Goods, asking them to include "Christmas" in their advertising. You will find these two companies listed on AFA's "Naughty or Nice" listing of retailers. We will let you know how they respond.
Which is more important, the inclusion of the term 'Christmas' in holiday advertising, or keeping the Christian celebration of Christmas free from commercialism in the first place? How should Christians who find this sort of thing ridiculous respond? Should we simply ignore the boycotts, should we denounce the boycotts, should we counter-boycott?
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- From: SirNickDon@xanga
- Name: Nick Don
- Location: Wichita, Kansas, United States
- About Me: I am the director of college ministries at Shartel Church of God. I have been married for close to two years now, and my wife and I have taken over guardianship of a 17-year-old girl named Ashley, who is in her last year of high school.
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Comments (36)
This is so silly. These groups exist for no other reason than to fabricate outrage. I am disappointed that Gap gave into them. If I owned a company and they complained to me like this I would make an ad mentioning Kwanzaa, Hanuka, Tet, Ramadan, Winter Solstice, and Festivus, and intentionally leave out Christmas just to annoy them.
We need a Festivus for the rest of us! lol!
Did the add really say Happy Do whatever ya wannaka? Great! Now I have to worry about some serial killer who thinks GAP just gave him license!
This is so ridiculous, and the one thing I can't stand about the holiday season. No matter how much you try to include every holiday that occurs this time of year, you're bound to leave something out, and somebody, somewhere, is going to be offended. Good grief, just leave it at "Happy Holidays" which includes everyone, and be done with it!
I think we should enjoy the choreography and dancing in that first ad! That was truly awesome!!
Wow, this is just about as crazy as the "conservapedia" idea on that last post. lol
@sarahzthoughts@xanga - @scrambledmegsntoast@xanga - I agree with both yall.
Just leave it at Happy Holidays and realize that these types of groups basically exist to cause trouble.
I just can't stand materialism and how so many commercials promote it. There's the one GAP commercial of little girls dancing and singing about boots and sweaters. Something about it just drives me insane every time I see it. There's not a lot we can do about commercialism invading Christmas but we can do a lot about how we let it affect us. We can turn off the TV. We can celebrate in different ways. We can spend less. We can go shopping knowing what we want to buy and getting nothing but what is on our list.
We shouldn't involve ourselves with silly boycotts and we don't need to boycott boycotts. It seems to me that casual yet firmly consistent faithfulness to Christ and his commands will be enough. We can engage in conversation with boycotters and seek solutions. I think it's most important that we first ask who we are, how we are obeying or disobeying Christ, loving or not loving our neighbors and so on before we point fingers. We've got to take care of our planks. When you're plank-less the need to point out slivers almost becomes nullified.
wowww you don't see other religious groups boycotting and causing a ridiculous uproar over not incorporating Hanukkah and Kwanzaa in their commercials. This is why Christians get a bad rep for being self-righteous.
These commercials are clearly targeted towards those who celebrate the winter solstice.
@sarahzthoughts@xanga - i agree, this is so stupid. i stick to "happy holidays."
gap shouldn't have caved to these idiots.
These ultra conservative Christians give the rest of us a bad name.
At least it's still called something decent at america... here in australia, it's called "the silly season".
I couldn't care less if GAP et. al. mention Christmas at all. I find their products overpriced and diametrically opposed to Christ's teaching of not seeking the things of this world, but of the next. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ; if GAP et. al. want to make a celebration of consumerism, I for one would prefer they not mention Christmas at all.
I don't hear any Jewish people wondering why their holiday isn't featured more prominently in commercials. For that matter, where are the commercials regarding Chinese New Year? To Chinese, this is "not just another holiday" as well. In fact, to every group of people, their special holiday is "not just another holiday." Why should Christians get special treatment?
@cRyStaL_rAiNe@xanga - "wowww you don't see other religious groups boycotting and causing a ridiculous uproar over not incorporating Hanukkah and Kwanzaa in their commercials."
Do you suppose part of the reason is that all of these other 'religious groups' haven't been targeted or marginalized like Christianity has been & continues to be?
I don't disagree with the sentiment of what you are saying or others who call such boycotts stupid or rediculous. I obviously wouldn't shop Gap, Old Navy etc. anyway. It's all rather 'HoHum' to me, but it is also true that efforts to boycott or excise the term 'Christ' or other derivatives of that term from our culture continue (not just during this season) to operate. And conservative groups like AFA (right, wrong or indifferent) are pushing back,sometimes fairly effectively. LAW--
@Mr_Turniphead@xanga -
"Do you suppose part of the reason is that
all of these other 'religious groups' haven't been targeted or
marginalized like Christianity has been & continues to be? "
i don't think a religion that a vast majority of Americans adhere to, strongly or weakly, can be marginalized in any true sense. Christians need to stop interpreting their loss of monopoly on all things religious in this country as persecution. if Judaism was the majority religion here, i would advocate keeping all references to Hanukkah and Judas Maccabee out of media, in favor of neutrality.
Christianity, despite being the largest religion on the planet, still functions with the mentality of a persecuted minority. it's like a soldier with PTSD. the Romans are no longer out to get you... you ARE the Romans now, so relax. i'd bet my entire savings that most of the people in power who are making these decisions are Christians themselves. and besides... it's the job of Christianity itself to maintain its own holidays, not the media. what, may i ask you, is so Christlike about a boycott?
Yawn....... AFA again trying to justify its existence by 'exposing' these matters. Let's see, boycotts hurt who? Oh yeah, the workers who are trying to make ends meet and feed their families. What a great idea.......NOT.
This is ridiculous. Christians hijacked the winter solstice celebrations in the first place to propagate their own Christian agenda. (Theologians themselves admit this.) On top of that, other holidays take place during this time -- Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc.
So Christians don't own the goddamn winter holidays. They need to get their heads out of their asses and realize they aren't the most important group of people on the planet.
It's really too bad that GAP rolled over in submission.
absolutely absurd. i HATE it when groups claiming to speak for all of christianity start boycotts and campaigns against companies like this. hate hate hate.
Christianity, despite being the largest religion on the planet....while that might be true in pure numbers, practicing Christians are far outnumbered by practicing Islamists....
Don Wildmon has been trumpeting his rabble rousing views for 30 years. Prior to being the "AFA" (American Family Association) he had a group named the "National Federation for Decency". His son Tim is the chair for the AFA. Go to Wiki and enter his name, interesting reading, and from what I can recall, pretty accurate.
Some of his stuff is probably a good idea, I am not for kiddie porn in advertising catalogues either, and some of those Abercrombie & Fitch ads were pretty close. As for the rest of their agenda, it is the typical anti-gay, anti-sex, pro nuclear traditional family stuff. His group is like the pesky gnats that keeps buzzing around your ears and eyes at a picnic...
People can spend their money how they choose. Personally, I don't shop at the Gap, and so I neither boycott nor support it. However, the same thing applies to companies. If they don't want to support it as a religious holiday, it's their money, their time. I'll bet many of the people boycotting the Gap get all up in a bind over the commercialization of Christmas, which would be rather ironic. Perhaps we should live and let live. One day there'll be enough pagans or Muslims in this country where they could start the same nonsense.
@LoBornlyte@xanga - Totally agree with you about the dancing! I danced for a long time, so when I see really awesome choreographing, I'm so impressed!
@too_pretty_to_die@xanga - "what, may i ask you, is so Christlike about a boycott?"
I suppose it is true that refusing to frequent the abortion clinics to kill my children could be considered a 'boycott' of such and not frequenting pornography parlors another form of the same and maybe not involving myself with prostitutes could also be considered a 'boycott', but I don't consider such and many many other such activities, most or all quite legal, or refusal of such to be 'unChristlike'. I don't understand how deciding not to participate in or frequent a particular business for whatever reason should be considered not Christlike---or even Christlike for that matter. After all, its my life and my decisions----and maybe very good and very wise ones at that!!! I neither favor nor repudiate 'boycotts' per se.
I really think you are beating up on a 'strawman'. LAW--
@Mr_Turniphead@xanga - i think there's a huge difference between choosing to not do business year-round because you fundamentally disagree with the industry, and using it as a tactic to get the change you want. there's nothing Christlike about manipulation and coercion. or are Christians really fooling themselves into thinking that the Gap is making this change because they respect Christmas more now, rather than to prevent profits from falling and maintain good PR?
According this this article from the LA Times, the ad *was not* in response to the AFA's boycott: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-neil17-2009nov17,0,2040716.story
Christmas isn't about an ad or lights or trees or presents, so I don't care if they mention Christmas in their ad.
December has, like, 6581765174509874509184375 holidays, plus birthdays, so it's pretty impossible to fit them all in an ad.
I'd actually like it better if Christmas wasn't in any ads, that way Christians can get back on track and focus on Jesus' birth instead of gifts and all that jazz.