Arsalan Iftikhar, senior editor at The Islamic Monthly and founder of TheMuslimGuy.com, recently drew attention to a Gap ad on the Subway that had been defaced with racist graffiti, and the clothing company was quick to respond.
Vandals changed the ad's caption of "Make Love" to "Make Bombs" and scrawled, "Please stop driving TAXIS" on the New York Subway poster that features Sikh actor and jewelry designer, Waris Ahluwalia. Iftkihar was quick to snap a picture of the defaced ad, which is part of Gap's holiday "#MakeLove" campaign that features a diverse cast of models,and post it to Twitter.
"When I first saw my Facebook friend's photo of this GAP subway advertisement defaced by vandals with racist messages, I wanted the world to see how millions of brown people are viewed in America today," Iftikhar told The Huffington Post.
Gap responded the next day, asking Iftkihar via Twitter if he knew the location of the defaced ad. They even changed their company Twitter background to the photo featuring Ahluwalia and a fellow female model in order to show their support.
In response, members of the Sikh community have started a "Thank you, Gap" campaign on Facebook to show appreciation for not only the inclusion of a Sikh model in their ads, but for taking a stand against racism by making Ahluawalia's the company's "face" on social media, HuffPost reports.
"By placing a Sikh model in prominent locations on billboards, direct mail advertising and digital channels, you have raised the profile of Sikhs in ways the community couldn't have accomplished with its limited resources. The community has tremendously benefitted from the attention it has received through Gap's marketing campaign," community members wrote to Gap in a letter.
"This whole story just proves that we do not live in a post-racial America yet when South Asians and those perceived to be Muslims cannot even grace fashion advertisements without racial epithets being directed their way," Iftikhar told the Daily Mail.
As for Ahulawalia, the handsome model recently posted a photo on Facebook of a young boy and girl recreating the Subway ad, writing, "This is too cute..."
