At least Applebee's is a restaurant chain. The Gap is a group of clothing stores. And whether it's in the form of a stain or weight gain, food has not been known as a best friend to fashion.
The truck is just the latest in a line of promotions that the Gap has been trying in order to bring in customers and stomp out the American psyche's association of the brand with boring and unflattering. There were Groupons, free jeans via Facebook, and bringing in and firing designer Patrick Robinson, whose resume includes Armani and heading Anne Klein. (The marketing doesn't seem to be working. In the recently released Crazy, Stupid, Love, Ryan Gosling's GQ-stud of a character tells Steve Carell's down-in-the-dumps-and-dumpity-looking character, "Be better than the Gap.")
The Mexican food trucks will operate in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago, with different menus in each city created by notable culinary names like Top Chef contestant Marcel Vigneron in L.A. and Katie Lee, cookbook author, in NYC. The food is free if you purchased a pair of Gap jeans in the same day and can show a receipt; otherwise, it's $1.69 for two tacos and a drink. The trucks are also handing out $20 coupons for 1969 denim.
The trucks will be operating from now through September 30 -- but so far, there are no plans for a stop in Denver.
But then, we already have the Applebee's truck.