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Gap (RED): Social Responsibility Campaign or Window Dressing?

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Abstract

This study interrogates the Gap (RED) campaign from a political economic perspective to determine whether it goes beyond merely touting the virtuous line of social responsibility. Critics cite the irony of capitalist-based solutions that perpetuate the inequities they are trying to address. Others suggest the aid generated is problematic in and of itself because it keeps Africa from becoming self-sufficient. This research contends the purpose of the Gap’s participation is genuine, going beyond window dressing and the surface level benefit of capitalistic enterprise, and is in fact linked to a higher motive of propagating ethical trade which ultimately offers African beneficiaries a path to financial independence. However, because the message of the current Gap (RED) advertising campaign does convey a false sense of doing good, another advertising approach is warranted.

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  1. Department of Advertising, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.

    Michelle Amazeen

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  1. Michelle Amazeen
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Correspondence to Michelle Amazeen.

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Amazeen, M. Gap (RED): Social Responsibility Campaign or Window Dressing?. J Bus Ethics 99, 167–182 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0647-2

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