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Sydney Sweeney vs KATSEYE: Who Wore Jeans Better?
- Haia Rimoch and Santiago Garcia
- Sep 23
- 2 min read
Introduction
Two very different jean ads have recently become the main conversation in fashion. American Eagle’s ad starring A-list actress Sydney Sweeney and Gap’s collaboration with KATSEYE have both gone viral, but for very different reasons. While American Eagle has faced significant backlash, Gap, on the other hand, has been praised for its inclusive approach.
Ad Concept - American Eagle
On July 23, 2025, American Eagle launched a denim-focused ad featuring Sydney Sweeney. The ad focused heavily on her image as a Hollywood star. The campaign used the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” which was a play on words with jeans/genes. Possibly taking inspiration from Brooke Shields' 1980 Calvin Klein ad.
Public Reaction and Controversy
After the campaign was launched, it immediately gained massive attention, gaining millions of views across social media. Viewers argued that the ad was oversexualized, and many interpreted the tagline, which said blond-haired and blue-eyed, Sydney Sweeney “has great jeans,” as eugenics and white supremacy. Other viewers only saw it as harmless world play.
Brand Response
On August 1, 2025, American Eagle responded to the criticism through an Instagram post. On their post, they claimed the ad “is and always was about the jeans”. Negative comments followed, such as: “So what is the correlation between Jeans and eye color again?” and “wait, lemme get this straight. when y’all said ‘jeans are passed down from parents to offspring and determine eye color’, y’all meant JEANS? gotcha, makes total sense (not)”. Another user commented, “??? Literally 11 posts earlier claims differently. This is just embarrassing at this point”.
On the contrary, some supportive comments included: “Bravo American eagle!!! Stand strong!! 👏”, “People get so mad at an attractive woman 😂”, and even Trump posted a comment calling it “the ‘HOTTEST’ ad out there”.
Results
The campaign provided American Eagle with an immense increase in brand visibility. This caused the brand's stock price to increase by 38%. However, this attention did not carry over to stores, where foot traffic decreased by 9%.
Gap Ad Concept
In contrast, Gap partnered with KATSEYE, a music group known for its diverse members, ranging from Indian to Venezuelan-Cuban. The ad showcased denim as a unifying, everyday piece anybody could wear. In the ad, you could see the members dancing to a choreographed dance, with the song Milkshake, which started trending on TikTok after the ad´s release.
Public Reaction Gap
Gap´s ad was widely praised for its positive message and authentic representation. Audiences highlighted how the brand was able to stay relevant to younger audiences without relying on shock value. The ad accumulated over 400 million views and 8 billion impressions. Unlike American Eagle, Gap mostly received positive reviews like “I’m so obsessed I now need Gap jeans”, “and that's how u do a jeans ad”, “This ad made me a Katseye fan.”, and “that’s MARKETING”.
Results Gap
Gap saw increased engagement across social media, with fans applauding the collaboration. Not only did the ad improve Gap´s cultural relevance, but it also strengthened the brand's image as progressive and inclusive, gaining a 171% increase in brand mentions.
Conclusion
Both ads sparked conversation, but for very different reasons. American Eagle’s campaign drew criticism for tone-deaf messaging, while Gap’s collaboration with KATSEYE demonstrated the power of inclusivity in fashion marketing.
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