Mouths Agape Pondering New GAP Logo

Admittedly I’ve never had much use for the GAP, other than the fact it inspired some of my favorite Saturday Night Live skits (“Lay off me I’m starving”).  But its newly designed logo seems to be leaving branding experts and fans alike starving for a bit more.

The question on everyone’s mind is why did GAP (um, I mean Gap) tinker with such an iconic logo?  And why is the redesign so bland?

Perhaps in an attempt to cover its blunder, the Gap is now calling for crowdsourced designs via its Facebook fan page:  “We’re thrilled to see passionate debates unfolding...We love our version, but we'd like to ... see other ideas. Stay tuned for details in the next few days on this crowd sourcing project.”

Oddly, the Facebook fan page is still using the old logo.  Was the new logo intended to create negative buzz in a desperate attempt for attention online?  If so, it seems to be working - but perhaps not in the way the brand intended:

What are your thoughts on this move?