| The Gap - Free Gift Certificates Chain Letter | |||
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| Netlore Archive: This email chain letter, round four in a series of hoaxes playing off the competition between The Gap, Old Navy and Abercrombie and Fitch, promises free gift certificates to everyone who forwards the message | |||
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Email example contributed by Jessica S., 1 Oct. 1999:
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Hi! My name is Janelle McCan. You have probably heard about the e-mail from Abercrombie and Fitch offering twenty five dollar gift certificates to every five people you sent that letter to. My question is: DID IT WORK? Most of you who tried it will probably say NO. But this chain letter is no prank like others you have experienced. I am offering thirty five dollar gift certificates to every seven people you send it to. When you have finished sending this letter to as many people as you wish, a screen will come up. It will tell you how much you have earned in Gap gift certificates. Print that screen out and bring it to your local Gap store. The sales clerk will give you your certificates and you can SHOP BABY! This is a sales promotion to get our name out to young people around the world. We believe this project can be a success, but only with your help. Thank you for your support! Sincerely,
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Comments by Carla Homan: Oh, how inventive! I'm almost convinced it's not a prank by the mere fact that it says it's not a prank.
Unfortunately for true believers everywhere, Gap Inc. (the company apparently doesn't call itself The Gap anymore) was founded by Don and Doris Fisher in San Francisco, 1969, not by Janelle McCan. Perhaps Don and Doris, like the writer of this hoax, happen to talk like pre-teen girls on the verge of menarche, and would indeed exhort you to "SHOP BABY!" Who knows? But their existence definitely precludes the possibility of Janelle McCan handing out $35 gift certificates for getting the Gap name out to young people around the world. (Note to self: find mysterious paradise where young people have not heard of Gap.)
In a sophisticated effort to prevent people from questioning the email, the following two paragraphs were added in later versions of the email:
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Hey guys, I finally found one that is TRUE! I went down to the gap
myself and redeemed my GIFT CERTIFICATES already!!! I sent enough
e-mails to get over two hundred dollars worth of clothes from the GAP!
You know, with all the crap sent over the mail, it is good to know that
something finally rings true in this environment of virtual deception.
Send it to everyone you know, and you too can have a whole new
wardrobe, courtesy of THE GAP! Isn't it grand?
One more detail, my "screen" only came up after I had sent out nineteen different messages. It must have something to do with how the strange program works... What will they think of next... |
Good question: what will they think of next? Despite the presence of this, er, convincing testimonial, you can be certain that no "screen" will ever appear with this message, whether you send 1 or 133 copies. Gap says it's not true. And it's not possible from a technological point of view. (And, for the math impaired, 19 mailings to 7 people times the imaginary $35 gift certificate actually equals over $600 worth of pretend clothes. Unless by "19 messages" our prankster means 19 individuals, which yields only $70 worth of invented clothing at a rate of $35 per 7. But $70, $600, or $200 worth of make-believe clothing from Gap is still the same amount of clothing from Gap: none.)
It's email, not magic. It's the electronic equivalent of a piece of paper, yet people seem to think it can accomplish such miracles as curing dying children, stopping the creation of imaginary laws in congress, and nobler enterprises such as getting free clothes from Gap, all for flooding the inboxes of your friends, coworkers and relatives with get-rich-quick schemes a two-year-old could see through... provided it arrived via snail mail.
Carla Homan is a writer and researcher based in Washington, D.C.
Further reading:
Gap Chain Letter, Version #1
First sighted in June 1999Abercrombie & Fitch Chain Letter
Definitely not a rags to riches storyOld Navy Chain Letter
Isn't this getting tiresome?True Facts About Gap Inc.
From the horse's mouth, as it wereGap Inc. Statement on Chain Letter Hoaxes
"Chain letters and other email hoaxes regarding any Gap, Banana Republic or Old Navy promotions are not legitimate. Please disregard any correspondence you've received promising free clothing or gift certificates."
