At Flint Hill, common topics of discussion include fashion, pop culture, and celebrities in the spotlight. As an adolescent community, information is being absorbed at a faster rate than ever before- but how much can something as trivial as a marketing campaign impact our outlook, or be perceived differently from person to person? Marketing campaigns for jeans couldn’t cause the culture debate of the year amongst huskies, right? That would be incorrect, as students have joined the rest of the internet in the discussion comparing the different strategies of clothing brands American Eagle and GAP.
These debates began on July 23, 2025, when a new American Eagle jeans commercial featuring actress and public figure Sydney Sweeney was broadcasted. The video featured Sydney trying on different pants, saying “genes are passed down from parents. My genes are blue,” followed by “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Genes”, before the “genes” is then crossed out for “jeans.”
This play on words, which the brand claimed to be harmless, reminded many viewers of underlying genetic superiority messages and themes like eugenics. Others compared the commercial to the last jeans marketing disaster, when Calvin Klein, in 1980, launched an advertising campaign that sexualized the then-15-year-old actress Brooke Shields.
Whether you’re outraged by the Sydney Sweeney ad or think its meaning is insignificant, the controversy was magnified when American Eagle competitor GAP released an ad campaign featuring the International girl pop Group “KATSEYE”. The video, posted by GAP, is titled “Better In Denim” and features the pop group dancing to Milkshake by Kelis, accompanied by a diverse group of dancers. The dance video features models of all ethnicities wearing denim and serves as a sharp contrast to the message of exclusivity that Sydney Sweeney portrayed.
While it was not made clear that this was an intentional response, new broadcasters such as FOX and CNN have covered the campaigns, and the media debate has even hit Flint Hill’s halls. Karan Chugh ‘26 explained his perspective, saying “I think that the latest ad has women of all races and cultures, while the American Eagle ad has a white woman talking about her ‘ideal genes,’ and for our generation, the KATSEYE campaign came across better because of how it represents more people.”
Chugh is right; as the stock in American Eagle has decreased, the broadcasting and positive response to GAP have increased the brand’s stock. Whether American Eagle intended to create a connection to the idea of race, Brooke Shields, or simply didn’t think before planning their marketing, these recent events have brought attention to how media can spark conversation.
In today’s age, information is constantly being fed to us, and it can communicate a deeper meaning than what meets the eye at the surface level. Brands can play a crucial role in shaping the public view, but as consumers, we can also choose to be informed and research a company’s values before supporting them. Sometimes, it could be a pair of jeans, or perhaps a symbol representing a brand or an individual’s beliefs.
So is there such a thing as “Good Jeans?” Or, are we “Better Together?”
