I wouldn’t call them complaints, but we get very regular comments regarding the proofing process we have in place. Our process has been called everything from redundant to exhausting, but it works. We are in a custom business and in every single order lies multiple opportunities to make mistakes. Our proofing process limits those mistakes to a miniscule percentage. Maybe Old Navy should review their process?
The person who writes copy for Old Navy t-shirts has a pretty easy job. No puns, no of-the-moment cultural references, just a word about sports or summer, followed by a couple of exclamation points. It’s hard to screw it up. But screw it up, someone did indeed.
Hundreds of thousands of shirts from the retailer’s new college football line have been shipped to stores with the phrase "Let’s Go”, sans apostrophe. Major grammar fail.
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I can’t say I don’t relate. Apostrophes and commas are my left and right Achilles’ heels. If only shirts were as easy to fix as blog posts.
The mistake is particularly glaring considering the concept of the tee: it’s a partnership between Old Navy and 70 esteemed institutes of higher learning. Duke, Syracuse, University of Texas and Notre Dame, to name a few, all signed on to be represented on the Old Navy tee. Now they might be regretting that decision. According to Fashion ETC, Syracuse University officials are leading an investigation into who approved the copy. Maybe it’s the same person who signed off on this Wet Seal t-shirt.
Stupid oversight, yes. But shouldn’t we give the guy a break? It’s just a misplaced smudge between two letters. Isn’t this public flogging punishment enough? How about the night after the shirts had gone to the printer and that t-shirt writer was finally able to get some sleep, but just as he was drifting off into a dream state, his eyes popped open, his palms burst into a cold sweat and he sprung up in bed, shouting: I FORGOT THE APOSTROPHE! That probably had to suck.
