Katseye’s GAP ad garnered much attention, specifically for their dance to the song “Milkshake” by Kelis.
Two advertisements (ads), two brands, two different approaches to marketing. The American Eagle ad and the Gap ad were released earlier this year, both immediately going viral.
Sydney Sweeney, an American actress, collaborated with American Eagle to create their campaign “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans”.
As soon as Sydney Sweeney’s campaign for American Eagle denim was launched, controversy immediately rose regarding the approach American Eagle chose.
In Sweeney’s ad, the main issue critics saw was the strange wording. The ad uses a play on words to praise Sweeney’s “jeans” and her “genes”. Although this was meant to be clever wordplay, some reinterpreted it as insinuating that Sweeney, as a blonde and blue-eyed individual, has superior genes over others.
Some also felt that her ad excluded other groups of people, those who don’t have blonde hair and blue eyes like Sweeney.
Although her ad went viral, it wasn’t for the reasons the company hoped. Many critics even called it “rage-bait” and said that it hinted at eugenics.
Soon after the American Eagle ad was released, Gap released its own ad promoting the company’s denim.
Katseye collaborated with Gap to create their campaign, “Better than Denim”.
Katseye, a global girl group, includes six members who debuted from Netflix’s survival show Pop Star Academy: Sophia Laforteza, Yoonchae Jeung, Megan Skiendiel, Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, and Manon Bannerman.
When Katseye’s campaign for Gap made its debut, the media couldn’t help but compare it to the earlier released American Eagle ad, examining how the two different marketing approaches both drew public attention.
Both the fact that the Gap ad was released right after the American Eagle ad and the inclusion of the song “Milkshake” by Kelis, specifically the lyrics “damn right, it’s better than yours”, made the ad feel like a direct rebuttal to the American Eagle campaign.
Katseye’s collaboration with Gap features the group doing what they do best: dance.
Upon the release of the “Better than Denim” campaign, the dance immediately went viral. Many felt the ad was actually compelling due to the fact that the members could dance freely in the jeans.
The ad felt particularly natural and authentic because of the fact that they were not given a script. It was seen more as entertainment rather than a promotion. People did not feel bored even after watching the same ad many times, which is uncommon for advertisements.
That is part of the reason why this ad was so successful.
In addition, the ad exuded inclusivity and diversity, as it includes members from all around the world: South Korea, the United States, Switzerland, the Philippines, etc.
Overall, the Gap ad received much more positive reception from consumers than the American Eagle ad.
However, despite the contrasting methods each company chose to promote their products, both ads were successful in that they boosted jeans sales for the respective companies.
Together, both ads highlight how fashion advertising is not solely about the clothes. It is about identity, inclusivity, and, of course, being entertaining.