Sometimes Jeans Go Out of Style: When a campaign damages how people see a brand

Photo: AdWeek

As of late, celebrities have been bringing their A-game to ads and campaigns—and social media has been loving it. From Chanel featuring Timothée Chalamet to Calvin Klein’s use of Bad Bunny in their latest campaign, viewers eat it up… until they don’t.

American Eagle’s latest ad featuring Sydney Sweeney didn’t land well and quickly fell flat on social media. The tagline, “Sydney Sweeney has Great Jeans,” didn’t sit right with many viewers, some even calling it insensitive. This is a clear example of why strong copywriting matters. You’re telling me this copy went through multiple departments and still got approved? Doesn’t seem right.

The society we live in today sees everything through a magnifying glass, and one poorly worded line can spark backlash; even if that wasn’t the intent. This campaign fell into that trap, a clear example of what happens when creative teams out of touch with culture attempt to capture “youth culture” without doing the necessary research.

Currently, the backlash left a negative impact on the brand, prompting them to respond. On American Eagle’s official Instagram, they clarified that the campaign “…is and always was about jeans. Her jeans. Her story.” While they attempted to fix the controversy, it’s still too early to tell how this will affect the company long term.

So next time you are tasked with creating a tagline, think carefully about every possible interpretation because that is what makes any copywriter fetchin’.