Two denim advertisements have gone viral in the past month, but for reasons completely unrelated to the clothing itself. American Eagle has collaborated with celebrated actress Sydney Sweeney on a campaign deemed “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.” Gap Inc. has collaborated with the rising popstars KATSEYE on their campaign, “Better in Denim.”
Who is Sydney Sweeney?
Sydney Sweeney is an American actress most known for her role as Cassie in the hit TV show “Euphoria.” Besides that, she has starred in a diverse range of movies and TV including the rom-com “Anybody but You,” book adaptation “The Handmaids’ Tale” and drama “The White Lotus.”
Outside of acting, Sweeney has hosted Saturday Night Live. Prior to her collaboration with American Eagle, she went viral for her Dr. Sasquatch ad, selling a soap named “Sydney’s Bathwater Bliss,” which apparently contained her bathwater.
Who is KATSEYE?
KATSEYE is a global girl musical group under Korean powerhouse Hybe Corporation and American record label Geffen Records. KATSEYE has six members: Sophia from the Philippines, Manon from Switzerland, Yoonchae from South Korea and Daniela, Lara and Megan all from the U.S.
They were selected from the extensive training program and survival show “The Debut: Dream Academy,” otherwise known as “Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE,” which can be watched on Netflix.
Since 2024, KATSEYE has released two Extended Plays: “SIS (Soft is Strong)” and “Beautiful Chaos,” as well as the hit single “Touch.” They also collaborated with Mattel for a revamp of the “Monster High Fright Song.” Some of their notable performances have been at Lollapalooza in Chicago and Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards.
The controversy
Sweeney’s ad with American Eagle has made waves due to its slogan, focusing on the homophonic nature of “jeans” and “genes.” She is filmed in what may be considered provocative shots, donning saggy jeans, barefoot.
“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color,” Sweeney said in the ad. “My jeans are blue.”
Much of the anger results from a lack of diversity in the ad. Sweeney, a blond-haired, blue-eyed woman, emphasizing her genes, reminds some of the Nazi Germany concept of an Aryan race: White European, blond-haired, blue-eyed. Dictator Adolf Hitler justified his horrific eugenics programs with the belief that this Aryan, superior race was to be preserved and that other races were to be wiped out.
However, the campaign has also received support, with American Eagle stock rising 25% following their collaboration with Sweeney as well as American football player Travis Kelce. Adding fuel to the fire, political figures like President Donald Trump have been vocal about Sweeney.
“Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the ‘hottest’ ad out there,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It’s for American Eagle, and the jeans are ‘flying off the shelves’. Go get ‘em Sydney!”
In stark contrast, KATSEYE’s collaboration with Gap has received widespread positivity from the public. The ad features the girls dancing in Gap denim to Kelis’ 2003 song, “Milkshake.” The song has since grown from 796,000 streams a week to 2.22 million and the dance has become an online trend. The ad itself received 20 million views in three days and a total of 400 million views .
“This is denim as you define it,” Gap wrote in the YouTube caption of the video. “Your individuality. Your self-expression. Your style. Powerful on your own. Even better together.”
Gap’s ad has been praised for its inclusivity, portraying girls of different backgrounds and cultures coming together to celebrate everyone’s genes, especially when compared to American Eagle’s ad. Thus, fans have begun pitting the companies against each other in a sort of battle for the best jeans.
With their close release dates and opposing messaging, some believe Gap’s ad is a sort of response to American Eagle’s. The lyrics of “Milkshake” include “Damn right, it’s better than yours,” repeatedly, which can be interpreted as a jibe towards Sweeney’s campaign.
Ultimately, no matter your interpretation of the situation, the discourse brings forward a timely debate: what kind of role models should today’s girls follow? Pop culture is rife with cool girls and “icons,” but which ones set a good example for our youth? Who truly believes in spreading positive messages, and who is merely pandering to an image for financial purposes?
