American Eagle (AE) was most commonly known for targeting its fine denim collection at younger female audiences; however, in a recent advertisement featuring the A-listed actress Sydney Sweeney, trouble arises over the true motives behind AE’s campaign. 

Though the company aimed to sell jeans to a younger female demographic, much of the media was put off by the advertisement’s “sexual undertones,” containing taglines such as “genes are passed down from parents to offpsring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color,” ultimately ending the ad with the tagline: “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” 

The play on words between “genes” and “jeans” had also brought up the theory that AE was promoting eugenics, as it was displaying a famous blonde-haired, blue-eyed actress who was known for her sexual allure. Consequently, the results of the ad had caused controversy over the marketing skills of AE, a company formerly known for featuring diverse models. 

Gap, a rivaling jeans company to AE, released a new ad featuring a global girl group: Katseye. Famously known for their music, Gnarly and Touch, Katseye delivered a choreography of dances to the song “Milkshake by Kelis.” The song highlighted the lyrics: “it’s better than yours,” a supposed direct comeback to Sydney Sweeney’s ad campaign; the ad received praise from the media for Gap’s clever response to AE’s controversial commercial.

“Katseye’s advertisement was a perfect marketing tactic,” Julie Lee (12), Katseye fan, said. “They used the diversity of their group to demonstrate that anyone can wear their jeans, and nobody can feel left out.”

With the new controversy that erupted over Sydney Sweeney’s AE ad, Gap’s marketing response, featuring the global girl group Katseye, has won much praise over the former campaign.