GAP's advertising campaign featuring the group Cat's Eye is generating buzz.
On the 21st, GAP unveiled their Fall 2025 campaign themed 'Better in Denim' in collaboration with Cat's Eye.
In a roughly 90-second advertisement, Cat's Eye performs energetically to Kelis's hit song 'Milkshake'. The six members showcased various denim styles reinterpreting the low-rise silhouette.
Cat's Eye, which belongs to HYBE UMG, is a multinational group consisting of Manon, born to a Ghanaian father and a Swiss-Italian mother, Lara, an American of Indian descent, Megan, an American whose mother is Singaporean, Daniela, who is Venezuelan and Cuban-American, Sophia, a Filipino, and Yoon Chae, a Korean member.
As this background became known, the previously released American Eagle jeans advertisement came into comparison. Last month on the 23rd (local time), American Eagle sparked a social uproar with an advertising campaign featuring Hollywood actress Sydney Sweeney.
American Eagle's ad copy 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans' can literally be interpreted as 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans'. However, consumers raised concerns that if 'jeans' is interpreted as the homophone 'genes', it evokes 'superior genes'. The narration added, "jeans are inherited from parents", "sometimes even hair color, eye color, and personality", "my jeans are blue," fueling the controversy.
In other words, American Eagle is conveying an eugenic nuance by showcasing a blonde, blue-eyed white woman. Eugenics is a discriminatory theory that categorizes humans based on genetic traits, which is particularly taboo in the West, especially due to its association with the Nazi genocide of Jews.
In this situation, GAP's advertisement campaign featuring the multinational group Cat's Eye has become a hot topic in domestic communities as well.
Internet users believe that GAP's ad, which focuses on vibrant performances and diversity, is better than the American Eagle ad, which allegedly promotes racial superiority. Comments such as "They did a great job casting Cat's Eye", "It's trendy", and "Well-made ad" were noted. However, some voices argued that it is an "over-interpretation" and that "Regardless, American Eagle's stock rose by 20%".
According to data provided by retail analysis firm Path by Retail Brew, foot traffic at American Eagle stores decreased by approximately 9% compared to the previous year since the ad was released on the 3rd (local time). This means that while the controversial campaign may have led to a surge in stock price, whether it resulted in actual sales conversions remains uncertain.