Jeans were invented on May 20, 1873, in Reno, Nevada, by Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis. Jeans were created during the California Gold Rush, when durable work pants for laborers, miners, and cowboys were made, and now they are used by many people worldwide. Jeans are used for fashion or just for everyday wear. There are different types of brands that sell jeans, and the best way for them to attract customers is by doing commercials. It is not just any commercial, but one that would light up your eyes and make you want to buy the jeans. Recently, two commercials have been released almost simultaneously—the Sydney Sweeney collaboration with American Eagle and the Katseye collaboration with Gap.
Jeans have been popular for a long time since they started as clothes for workers in the 1800s, but later became a fashion statement during the 1900s, like a symbol of style, especially among teens and young adults. ADs helped make jeans iconic by helping them get into the spotlight by being bold or even controversial, just to grab consumer attention. Famous commercials like the broken shields Calvin Klein ad in the 1980s showed that drama and a bit of spotlight can make jeans popular. Especially in the 1980’s a lot of people were shocked but made the brand famous. Which jeans ads often stir reaction on purpose because attention helps keep denim popular. Nowadays, music, videos, movies as well as celebrity; campaigns have such a huge part in keeping jeans popular.
Recently, two major popular brands have sparked a debate. American Eagle released an ad with the popular actress Sydney Sweeney that used a quote on “jeans” and “genes” saying “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans -genes”. In which a lot of viewers had a lot to say about how they thought it was promoting only one type of beauty standard and didn’t include diversity. Ari Minor, a Junior student at ERHS claimed “The concept of having “good genes” especially referring to white people has been used in a lot of really bad ways in the past, so it’s in poor taste.” The idea of “Good genes” has a history of being used to exclude certain groups of people, so using it today, especially when referring to white people could be really offensive towards students and many others, since the ad is justifying harmful beliefs, making people cautious of the possible implications the ad is giving.
On the other hand, many students including Ari Minor, thought the ad was provocative towards men and people who find her attractive, and defeated the purpose of the actual jeans being advertised. Alison Mejia, a Junior student at ERHS, who is familiar with the Ad, states “ It seemed like Sydney Sweeney was trying to be seductive instead of actually advertising the Jeans, which made me feel uncomfortable and discouraged in buying them. They looked kind of ugly too”. Numerous students at ERHS thought the jeans being advertised were “unflattering” on Sweeny herself and thought the jeans wouldn’t be a good look on them either.
Shortly after the American Eagle ad was released, GAP dropped an ad with the girl group Katseye, a girl group known for having members with diverse cultures. The Katseye video showed diversity, energy, and style. The Ad itself was very entertaining and captivating, which caught the attention of many students in ERHS. “I found it cool how they were able to dance in jeans because in some jeans you can’t really move around in them, I would definitely buy them because who wouldn’t want comfortable jeans.” Mentioned an anonymous Sophomore student at ERHS. Beyond the eye-catching choreography and the energy put into the GAP advertisement, the commercial slightly highlights the role of the jeans as it’s a key element in the student’s fashion choices at ERHS.
A lot of fans and media quickly took action to compare the two, debating which ad and jeans are better. While asking that question, it caused a huge argument across the internet. Jeans are more than just clothes. These ads show that jeans show identity and culture. ERHS students seem to lean more on the GAP Ad rather than the American Eagle Ad, as it represents diversity, comfortable/fashionable jeans, and flexibility. Averie, a junior student at ERHS,notes “As a student and a dancer I feel like it influenced me to want to buy their jeans because of their ability to dance and move freely in them. And they were also very flattering on them as well.” Even a simple ad can start a big conversation about who is represented. These ads still have people questioning which ad was the best. Which would you choose: “Better in Denim” or “American Eagle has great jeans”?