American Eagle’s recent jeans advertisement with Sydney Sweeney sparked controversy for its wordplay. Unlike GAP, featuring popular girl group KATSEYE, gained widespread appraisal for their advertisement whilst marketing the same product.
GAP is widely recognized as a corporation promoting diversity, inclusivity, and creativity through visually-appealing commercials. In August of 2024, Troye Sivan, a prominent figure in pop music was featured in a choreographed advertisement on TikTok.
“Free yourself from expectations. And dance outside the lines. Big jeans, for big moves – for everyone,” mentioned GAP in the caption.
This year, the KATSEYE ad heightened the bar for GAP’s already impressive standard of inclusion and representation of everyone. Having similarity to a dynamic KATSEYE music video where their backup dancers were all displaying different yet cohesive and aesthetically-pleasing outfits featuring GAP denim.
American actress Sydney Sweeney is a 5’3, blonde, blue-eyed young woman who has starred in many films and television shows. Oftentimes playing the stereotypical roles that amplified her physical characteristics. Her feature in the American Eagle ad did not break this trend.
“[Sydney Sweeney’s voice was] purposefully slowed down to sound sultry and seductive; she ended up sounding very idiotic,” said by Journey Chase (12).
Contrasted to KATSEYE jean advertisement, which was widely appreciated.
“[The GAP ad] conveyed movement, it conveyed energy,” and “although KATSEYE is popular, I personally don’t listen to their music and I want to buy GAP jeans” said Chase.
That sense of inclusivity resonated with another student as well.
“[In] the GAP ad there was diversity…and different styles” whereas the American Eagle ad catered to “one type of person, one style” claimed Ella Reed (12).
After rewatching the two advertisements, both Chase and Reed agreed in separate interviews that the GAP ad was more entertaining and effective.
“I felt very uncomfortable” stated Reed after watching Sydney Sweeney in American Eagle.
The central and peripheral route to persuasion are both involved in advertisements, magazines, and more. According to psychology, the peripheral route to persuasion influences attitudes by appealing to superficial cues such as a speaker’s attractiveness instead of the intended message’s logical content. Celebrity endorsements are huge in the peripheral route to persuasion.
Both advertisements demonstrated some form of celebrity endorsement. Sydney Sweeney’s appearance in the GAP ad augmented the superficial cues stated above because the camera would tilt suggestively to either her backside or her chest. As a result, the American Eagle ad came across as provocative and objectifying, like a curated fantasy.
“The denim on [KATSEYE] stuck out,” mentioned Chase.
KATSEYE’s ad featured dancing to a popular hit song “Milkshake” by Kelis. Through the choreography, GAP’s goal was not to flaunt the bodies of their dancers, but rather to express that their jeans can be incorporated into all styles and worn by everyone.
The media has been saturated with celebrity endorsements in the past, however the contrast between GAP’s authentic campaign versus American Eagle’s tedious Sydney Sweeney advertisement considerably drew a large amount of attention from the public. KATSEYE in GAP’s recent advertisement set a standard that others, including Sweeney, may need to catch up to.
