Gap Swaps Ad Amidst Controversy
In case you haven't heard, one of the ads in the Gap campaign with Le Petit Cirque has been pulled due to critics calling it racist. Here are just a few of the links to the coverage:
Le Petit Cirque Statement
The child in the ad is not an "armrest," she's the other girl's little sister, they are a very close family. The child is a very young Jr member with Le PeTiT CiRqUe®, a humanitarian cirque company, and therefore a wee shyer than the more seasoned older outgoing girls.
Our company is deeply saddened by some people misconstruing this as racist, and are
keeping the children out of this at the moment to protect their beautiful feelings, but we are extremely supportive of dialogue in our country to move past any racial barriers.
We stand by GAP KIDS and Ellen Degeneres.
Le PeTiT CiRqUe®’s international and national shows bring us in front of numerous cultures. As an example, we recently performed in Dubai and inspired and empowered kids and parents alike of a skeptical Muslim culture, (as seen in the photo to the right) with one of our very young performing kids and a Muslim woman and her child connecting and not seeing each other’s outer skin, but their common connection of kindness and compassion.
Le PeTiT CiRqUe®’s work is about kindness, love, and empowering kids to move past cultural differences, stereotypes, ethnicites, and assist kids through their fears, shyness, insecurities and transforming them into strong confident and tolerant human beings, so perhaps this ad is now an extension of our compassion of LPC’s mandate by educating more people.
*Le PeTiT CiRqUe® is busy preparing a Central America show tour where we will be again cross the racial boundaries and be united with compassion and working our humanitarian service in Panama orphanages on our down time.
Nathalie Yves Gaulthier
Le PeTiT CiRqUe®
