Katseye’s Gap Ad Is a Masterclass in Clapping Back
Written by Daphne Bryant
Image courtesy of Bjorn Iooos
Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably heard about the controversial American Eagle x Sydney Sweeney campaign. In it, American actress and producer Sweeney boasts about her“ great genes”, playing on the words genes and jeans to make a point about how great she (and the denim) looks. There’s one part of the ad that’s been particularly scrutinized, a scene where Sweeney says:“ Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue.”
Critics are saying the ad is suggestive of eugenics, a theory of improving the human race through selective breeding (which has long since been discredited and is virtually insane). Can you guess what blue-eyed racist twat came up with eugenics? The answer would be Sir Francis Galton, whose ideas became the basis of behavioral genetics. If you know your history, you’ll know the history of eugenics is evil, and IMO anything that reminds you of it is probably not great either.
I would be lying if I said I didn’t think there was something off about the ad. The hereditary talk is pretty gross and scientific. While Sweeney is not outright saying“ fuck everyone that doesn’t look like me, if you don’t fit Eurocentric beauty standards...die!”, I can see how people might fill in the blanks. Maybe I just dislike the ad because Sweeney has always rubbed me the wrong way. Let’s not forget she’s a registered Republican and likely voted for Trump’s second term...it’s honestly not surprising to me that a MAGA woman would be the star of a commercial this tone deaf. Either way, it’s not actually a good ad. It’s blowing up because a lot of people think it’s bad.
Weirdos in support of the commercial claim that“ it’s not that deep”,“ it’s only about jeans”, and“ it’s just an ad”, but anyone with a marketing degree (or ability to think beyond surface level) knows there’s no such thing as just an ad. Advertising is about messaging, and videos like these seek to tell stories. Before a company as big as AE releases a collab like this, there are multiple conversations, multiple script drafts, multiple takes, multiple meetings, etc., all so that you can get a final product that resonates in some way. I highly doubt that everyone working in AE’s marketing department is an idiot, so I’m sure they knew the cultural content, knew exactly what kind of backlash the video would receive, and decided to drop it anyway.
AE’s stock might be doing alright (and the conservatives might be jumping to their defense), but online the brand is facing a lot of (deserved) criticism. Many companies have jumped at the opportunity to capitalize off AE’s Internet fallout, serving up reactive marketing that is much more“ woke.” The best I’ve seen yet though was released two days ago, by GAP.
In the 90s and 2000s, GAP ads were characterized largely by their memorable choreography to well-known songs.Recently they’ve been reviving the pop culture phenomenon that made them so lovable way back when, releasing new ads and new dances featuring diverse cultural icons like Tyla and Troye Sivan. Even though I don’t shop at GAP, I’ve watched every single one of their music video-esque ads, because they really do have a unique and warm nostalgic quality that I love sooo much.
On August 19th GAP responded to AE with a contrasting ad featuring the beloved KATSEYE. If you still live under that same rock I mentioned earlier, you may not have heard of this global girl group with members hailing from the Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland and the United States. Though they sing in English and are based in Los Angeles, KATSEYE often promotes in SK and was trained in a similar way to that of K-pop girl groups, and they are wildly popular. Each member (Manon, Lara, Daniela, Megan, Yoonchae and Sophia) has a different cultural background, and that’s a huge part of their international appeal. What makes KATSEYE so refreshing is their authentic embrace of multiethnic differences, something that the K-pop industry has struggled to do since its’ inception.If there was ever a celebrity that could rival Sydney Sweeney’s PR mess of an ad, it’s this group.
In the GAP commercial KATSEYE dances intricate choreography to the song "Milkshake" by Kelis. While Sweeney’s ad is boring and stationary, KATSEYE’s ad is energetic and engaging. The girls are up and moving and show off their talent in a manner that feels confident, not cocky. In doing so, the group also shows off the movement quality of GAP jeans! Not only do they look amazing on the members, but anyone watching would look at this ad and think:“ How cool! I can dance in that skirt/those jeans!”
The casting directors also made conscious efforts to include dancers from all backgrounds, emulating KATSEYE’s own diverse makeup. Each dancer looks different, which the choreographer Robbie Blue emphasized in his Behind the Scenes video for GAP. It’s true: I can look in this video and see someone with my skin tone, someone who looks good, who looks like me, and that’s powerful no matter what people try to say. Representation is something a lot of brands are starting to forget matters.
No one except for creeps and naive fangirls want to watch Sydney Sweeney stare at the camera and moan offensive words. If you’re anything like me, you want to see something more like KATSEYE’s ad, a fun dance video that is heterogeneous in all the right ways. These girls are quite literally dancing circles around AE’s campaign, and I love them for it.
My goal with this article isn’t to be a mean girl (wink), but rather I want to highlight that diversity, individuality, and range is a powerful marketing tool. Who cares if your jeans/genes are blue? To quote Victoria Justice, I think we all have great genes.
