Katseye’s Gap Ad Goes Viral Weeks After Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle Partnership

Topline

A new marketing campaign for Gap jeans is raking in millions of views on a dance-heavy video starring the girl group Katseye, which has drawn some comparisons, both favorably and unfavorably, to another recent celebrity jeans endorsement in Sydney Sweeney’s controversial American Eagle ad.

Girl group Katseye stars in a new ad campaign for Gap. (Photo by Michael Tran / AFP) (Photo by MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

Gap unveiled a new marketing collaboration starring Katseye, a girl group composed of members from the Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United States, last week, including a 90-second video of the group dancing to “Milkshake” by Kelis clad in Gap denim.

The group’s diverse background, and Gap’s statement the ad highlights “cultural diversity” and “individuality,” have prompted some comparisons online to Sydney Sweeney’s controversial American Eagle ad, which was championed by conservatives after some criticized it for appearing to promote eugenics.

Some viral posts on social media have claimed Gap’s ad is a “response” to American Eagle’s marketing campaign, though it’s unclear when Gap started planning its Katseye collaboration or whether the Sweeney ad campaign had any impact.

Gap’s YouTube upload of the ad has nearly 6 million views, and the top comment reads, “Countering THAT controversy ad with a group of successful diverse girls in denim, GAP took that opportunity real fast.”

Gap’s ad has faced some pushback from conservatives online, including one poster who garnered 41,000 likes on X calling it a “woke garbage ad.”

Forbes has reached out to Gap for comment.

How Has The Gap Ad Gone Viral?

The ad, particularly the choreography and music, have captivated many social media users. Many TikTok users have posted videos in recent days recreating the dance to “Milkshake.” Some social media users also praised the ad’s diversity. In one post on X that garnered more than 360,000 likes, a user shared a screenshot of an Instagram post made by an Indian woman who explained to her daughter why she felt it was important to see Katseye singer Lara Raj, an American singer of Indian descent, in a major ad campaign. “This is why representation matters,” the post states. Many users also noted the close timing between Sweeney’s American Eagle ad and the Katseye Gap ad. In one TikTok that garnered more than 2.1 million likes, a user filmed a Gap store bearing large Katseye posters and an American Eagle store with Sweeney posters across from one another in a mall.

What Else Do We Know About Gap’s Marketing Campaign?

Katseye collaborated with Gap to promote its fall denim line, which Gap said is inspired by early 2000s fashion, including low-rise jeans. In a press release, Gap praised Katseye’s “multicultural point of view” and said their marketing collaboration “captures the spirit of individuality.” “Partnering with KATSEYE was a natural fit, we share a bold, expressive and inclusive point of view,” Mark Breitbard, President and CEO of Gap, said in a statement. The video’s viral dance was choreographed by Robbie Blue, who has also recently choreographed for artists including Doechii and Tate McRae.

Why Was Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle Ad So Controversial?

Sweeney’s marketing partnership with American Eagle became a lightning rod for controversy earlier this month over a voiceover the actress performs during a commercial. Sweeney makes a pun on “genes” and “jeans,” stating her jeans are blue, as text that reads, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” appears on screen. Critics accused American Eagle of evoking eugenics in the ad, as Sweeney is a white, blonde-haired, blue-eyed actress. The company stood by its campaign, stating the ad “is and always was about the jeans” and “great jeans look good on everyone.” The ad was championed by the right wing, who slammed the so-called “woke” backlash the commercial received. Political figures including President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, praised the ad, and American Eagle’s stock soared as much as 23% after Trump called it the “HOTTEST ad out there” in a Truth Social post.

Who Is Katseye?

Katseye is a girl group that formed on the reality competition series “Dream Academy” in 2023 and later starred in a Netflix docuseries, “Popstar Academy: Katseye,” in 2024. The competition series was backed by American record label Geffen Records and Hybe, a South Korean entertainment company behind major K-pop acts like BTS. The idea behind the show was “to take the ‘K’ out of K-pop and make it global,” according to the series’ trailer. Katseye has since released two extended plays and performed at the Lollapalooza festival earlier this year. The group is known for their 2000s-inspired fashion and have already scored marketing partnerships with brands including Fendi, Glossier and Urban Outfitters.

Tangent

Some critics have also pitted Sweeney’s American Eagle ad against Beyoncé’s Levi’s jeans campaign, which the company launched in September. The partnership came months after Beyoncé released a song titled “Levii’s Jeans” on her album “Cowboy Carter,” and she has since starred in multiple commercials for the brand. Some proponents of Sweeney’s American Eagle ad questioned why Beyoncé’s ad did not spark similar controversy. Conservative podcast host Megyn Kelly said Beyoncé’s Levi’s commercial is the “opposite of the Sydney Sweeney ad” in a post on X, calling it “artificial, fake, enhanced, trying too hard.”