American Eagle’s Campaign Is a Story...

But back to the campaign itself. Let’s be real: Sexy celeb sporting denim is somewhat tired. It’s been done since the ’80s when Brooke Shields first donned her Calvin Kleins (who can forget “Nothing comes between me and my Calvins”?) and the ’90s with those now iconic Levi’s 501 spots starring Cindy Crawford.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t point to the fact that this Sweeney campaign was in fact “inspired” by a Shields spot where the latter discusses genetics and “survival of the fittest” while squeezing into some denim. But that was 45 years ago. Cultural context has changed in terms of how we talk about diversity as well as our bodies—significantly. Read the room.

We’ve moved past all that—or at least I thought we had. Even AE as a brand helped us move past all that, pulling a move out of Dove’s “Real Beauty” playbook by launching their #aeriereal campaign in 2014 to highlight body diversity coupled with body positivity. Crawford’s recent return to denim for Re/Done and Good American were designed to show that sexy can be ageless. 

Meanwhile, Sweeney playfully talks to an unseen (presumably male) cameraman in her spots, making comments like “Hey, eyes up here,” when the camera zooms in on her breasts. The trajectory feels like we’re headed backwards.

As a spokesperson, Sweeney’s both “male-focused” and controversial when you consider her two recent campaigns for Dr. Squatch and another for Hey Dude. She’s tapped to secure the male gaze, obviously, but how does that sell denim to women? How will women respond? Female consumers are the people AE should be concerned about, not the men who might ogle her.

Sexed-up models don’t sell well to today’s woman. We want to see real bodies mirrored back at us. We love when a celeb embraces her flaws (we’re looking at you, Ashley Judd) or openly goes no makeup at major events (gorgeous move, Alicia Keys). We love—I kid you not, love—intentional vulnerability. 

Edelman’s Trust Barometer has shown time and again that women want to feel seen, heard, respected, and reflected by the brands they choose to do business with, stating that “81% of women buy based on brand trust.” SeeHer, an initiative from the ANA, found that “29% of women in ads are inaccurately portrayed through some form of stereotyping, objectification, or diminished character.” And here’s one more: Two-thirds of women would “skip ads if they felt that they were negatively stereotyping women,” according to Kantar.