2025 became the year of celebrity denim endorsements. Levi’s, American Eagle, and GAP all showcased public personalities clad in their latest collections, inadvertently constructing the perfect case study in how the same product can yield wildly different results. 

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Beyoncé and Levi's Jeans

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Levi’s recognises that denim is more than a fabric. It’s illustrated as a cultural symbol and a catalyst of movement, with Beyoncé embodying this very essence while riding a horse at daybreak and her motorcycle at nightfall – all while donned in denim on denim. 

  

‘The Denim Cowboy,’ starring Beyoncé, was posted in a staggered release of four parts by Levi’s for their multi-chapter campaign, REIIMAGINE. Launched in late 2024, Levi’s showcased the cultural significance of denim as a vehicle of self-expression through new versions of iconic ads such as the 1985 ‘Laundrette’.

 

The campaign was highly successful, with Instagram posts alone earning $7.5 million AUD in media impact value within the first 48 hours. Their chief executive, Michelle Gass, claimed that “The Levi’s brand has never been stronger.” Such unarguable successes set the bar high for denim marketing, portraying that the correct celebrity-brand alignment can generate significant financial returns. 

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The Levi’s Blueprint

 

Levi’s REIIMAGINE campaign with Beyoncé serves as the ideal control group for understanding an effective celebrity endorsement. Rather than relying on her star power alone, Levi’s constructed a year-long narrative that felt authentically integrated with her album, ‘Cowboy Carter’. 

 

Lifestyle Integration Over Aesthetic Snapshots

 

Levi’s took storytelling to another level through their campaign, creating a visual narrative that positioned the denim as an integral component of Beyoncé’s lifestyle. The campaign followed her more intimate moments of quietude at the laundromat and the diner, before reaching the pool hall scene imbued by Beyoncé’s arresting prowess. These intimate moments were designed to establish a profound emotional connection with the viewers. The scene at the diner evoked feelings of familiarity and relatability, enabling consumers to envision themselves in these mundane yet meaningful moments. This was reinforced by the visual progression of timestamps in the ad, allowing the audience to unconsciously map their own daily transformation onto the brand’s narrative. Hence, viewers could associate their daily habits with the Levi’s narrative, fostering psychological ownership even before making a purchase.

 

When the energy shifted in the pool hall, viewers were imbued with confidence, conveyed through the glint in Beyoncé’s eyes and the shine of her embellished denim. Portrayed as a pool shark, Beyoncé’s steady gaze and confidence exuded through her body language, reframing denim traditionally positioned as rugged or masculine into a symbol of feminine strength and glamour. Concluding with her bold exit on a motorcycle, the narrative unfolded through her everyday movements to remind consumers that Levi’s is a lifestyle, not just a product. Thus, the campaign highlights how denim can traverse through different contexts and experiences, offering consumers a glimpse into their everyday life, albeit with a hint of celebrity allure. 

 

This lifestyle approach starkly contrasts with Gap and American Eagle’s campaigns, which captured beautiful but single aesthetic moments that may be perceived as surface-level. While none of the campaigns focused solely on product attributes, Gap and American Eagle both concentrated on more contained visual snippets that illustrated style over substance. Levi’s contrastingly understood that modern consumers not only buy jeans, but also the notion that their clothing plays a role in their story, daily routines and personal evolution.

 

Storytelling Through Marketing

 

By nodding to historically iconic ads such as Levi’s’ 1951 ‘Laundrette’, the REIIMAGINE Campaign highlighted their longstanding history. This narrative was further encapsulated by the way REIIMAGINE unfolded like a four-act play. Each act elicited genuine anticipation and emotional investment from audiences over a long-term period, with each chapter chronologically published to establish the brand’s authenticity in promoting a steadfast product. Consumers weren’t just watching advertisements; they were engrossed in a narrative. This type of emotional investment was unique to Beyoncé’s campaign, which typical one-off campaigns cannot compete with. Because passive viewers were transformed into active participants, Levi’s campaign was able to focus on long-term brand building in a way that contrasted traditional campaign cycles. 

 

Same Product, Different Outcomes

 

Levi’s embodied what a robust, successful marketing campaign should look like, with celebrity partnership tied to culture, heritage and identity. Next, we’ll break down exactly how American Eagle and Gap’s campaigns performed, highlighting how different campaign choices can make or break how the same product is perceived. 

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Sydney Sweeney and American Eagle 

 

The popular 2025 American Eagle denim collaboration with Sydney Sweeney had all the makings of a breakout success campaign, potentially generating sales through a completely new demographic in the US market. Pairing a mainstream celebrity with cross-generational recognition, best known for breakout roles in shows like Euphoria, with one of America’s most widely known denim brands seemed like a plan destined for success. Yet instead of revitalising the brand’s image, the campaign quickly spiralled down the route of controversy, becoming a cautionary tale of how celebrity endorsements without strategic planning, thought, and vision can potentially do more harm than good.

 

However, the primary shortcoming of this campaign lay in its creative foundation. Branded around the slogan “Great Jeans”, the campaign leaned heavily on a double entendre intended to be playful but ultimately perceived as reductive and tone-deaf.  In a media landscape increasingly influenced by consumer awareness of representation and respect, the tagline implied a regressive stance, prompting criticism from consumers on social media platforms. The tagline overshadowed the product and sparked a surge of negative discourse that characterised the campaign's reception. Social media amplified the criticism at speed, with parodies and negative commentary outpacing any genuine engagement with the product. 

 

Even so, the issues ran deeper than a single slogan. The real shortcoming, however, was the lack of a story. With its REIIMAGINE campaign featuring Beyoncé, Levi’s positioned denim as a cultural thread that was heritage and reinvention woven together. With Katseye’s ‘Better in Denim’ campaign, GAP nostalgically and inclusively tied identity and memory to denim. American Eagle, in comparison, provided little more than a collection of glossy Sweeney stills. There was no movement, no intention, no rationale for why these jeans were valuable to the customer. The campaign failed to engage the audience and instead framed denim as an experience. It was as though the entire campaign was a poorly executed celebrity photoshoot that was lazily disguised as an advertisement.

 

This absence of depth in the material was particularly odd in light of American Eagle's past. In the oversaturated market of mall retailers in the early 2000s, American Eagle was able to distinguish themselves with relatable styling and body-positive campaigns. That left a lasting impact on the younger demographic as they were able to visualise a version of themselves in the stills. The Sweeney campaign, however, ditched that philosophy and went straight for the “sizzle instead of the steak” approach, forgoing authenticity and glamour for a surface-level campaign. There was no advancement, no progression, and no understanding of why these jeans were significant to the potential consumers. 

 

The gap between the celebrity and brand grew the problem. Sweeney transcends the red carpets, restores vintage cars, self-produces, and embodies ambition with approachability. These strengths could have been used to link denim to durability, craft, and self-expression. Instead, the campaign portrayed a one-dimensional image of the celebrity, reducing her to simply an object of admiration and nothing more. American Eagle neglectfully missed her true appeal while also missing the chance to construct a narrative bridge between her and the brand to deliver a successful campaign.

 

As you can probably predict, the Sweeny campaign amassed mass attention but not in a good way. Instead of sparking meaningful and engaging conversations about the jeans, styling, or cultural resonance with the targeted demographic, it was ridiculed for its outdated tonality and lack of imagination and creativity. In branding terms, American Eagle achieved visibility without affinity— awareness that does not translate into trust, purchase intent, or loyalty. Worse, it introduced reputational risk: if consumers perceive the brand as tone-deaf or disconnected, it becomes harder for future campaigns, even well-executed ones, to regain credibility.

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Katseye and GAP

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Closely following the poorly received American Eagle and Sydney Sweeney campaign, the viral girl group Katseye and GAP, a once powerhouse-like clothing brand, released their own 90-second campaign, hypnotising viewers around the globe with its captivating choreography and creativity. 

 

The rise, fall and re-stitching of GAP:

GAP has been facing its own issues throughout the past decade or two, but they are attempting to make a stylish comeback. The brand used to be dominant within the industry, particularly during the 90s when they were at the forefront of fashion. Unfortunately, the brand struggled to adapt to the ever-changing environment of consumers' tastes/preferences and use of online tools during most of the 21st century, leading them to be left in the dust by other major fashion retailers. Right now, GAP is focused on rebuilding its brand in order to increase sales. Led by CEO Richard Dickson, the brand is attempting to use media to connect emotionally with its consumers as well as narrow down core products, specifically focusing on denim and activewear. Throughout the years, GAP has risen and fallen in relevance multiple times. Additionally, this isn’t the first time they’ve used celebrity collaboration in order to boost the brand's popularity. For example, their collaboration with Kanye West (before all of the controversies) was a great success, with the partnership being valued at a staggering $970 million. 

 

Meet Katseye:

For those who may have never heard of them, Katseye, although only making their recent debut in June 2024, have hit the world by storm, releasing hit singles such as Touch and Gnarly, amassing millions of views on all platforms. In addition to their unique talent, the diversity of Katseye makes them stand out as a pillar for inspiration for minorities around the globe who may see themselves represented by the group’s members.
 

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Is GAP back on the rise?

 

Denim That Delivered

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Better in Denim aired on YouTube on August 19th, but how has the campaign performed since then? In the short time it has been out, the campaign has garnered a massive amount of hype and attention, frequently being compared to American Eagle’s campaign and its controversial double entendre. In the first three days of its debut, the video amassed an astonishing 30 million views and, in total, 400 million views. It additionally gained 8 billion impressions and featured #1 on the TikTok search function. Needless to say, it's clear that the release was a huge success and a large step forward for the rebranding GAP is looking to push for. While the company as an entire whole grew marginally at about 1% (inclusive of all subsidiaries), the GAP brand (excluding subsidiaries) saw a considerable increase in comparable sales of 14% within Q2 of 2025.
 

A Nostalgic Soundtrack

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The ‘Better in Denim’ campaign featured a performance primarily focused on members of Katseye in denim pieces dancing to the popular 2000s R&B track Milkshake by Kelis. The song choice not only gives a nod to the popular Y2K style, which has seen a resurgence among fashion communities globally, but also invokes a sense of nostalgia within older target audience members (particularly millennials and Gen Z) who grew up with the song. Nostalgia as an emotion helps to foster feelings of belonging and social connection. This feeling of conformity is then tied to the denim that is front and centre in the campaign, creating a subconscious link between the song Milkshake and GAP denim.
 

Power in Individuality

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While the song's impactful hook instantly catches the audience's attention, the fast-paced and unique dance movements captivate the audience, coercing them to watch the entire video. The marketing team knew exactly who their target audience was and carefully constructed the components of the campaign to emphasise this. GAP highlighted their focus on individuality, focusing on a group that is incredibly diverse. According to the Katseye, Gap requested that they “show up as [they] are”, heavily insinuating the brand’s belief that their denim adds to your character. Their display of inclusivity allows the majority of viewers to imagine themselves in GAP denim. GAP’s denim fits not only on your body but with your identity to become a part of your self-expression, no matter who you are. 

 

Unlike the American Eagle and Sydney Sweeney collaboration that had insensitive undertones of ideal genes, the Katseye and Gap campaign focused on individuality. They emphasised that all consumers have a right to belong to their community. This dominant message empowers target consumers to be themselves while also potentially causing them to associate GAP with the freedom to be themselves. 

 

What could be better

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‘Better in Denim’ was a considerable success for the brand, reigniting the embers within the redeveloping brand; however, no campaign is perfect. Although its execution was remarkable, there are a few things that could have been done better. For example, while the campaign was eye-catching, delving more into Katseye member personalities and styling choices could provide audiences with an even deeper human attachment to the company's product. While this would come at an additional cost, it could reap significant benefits by creating a link between the consumer and the product. 

 

Overall, GAP’s campaign in collaboration with Katseye has garnered attention globally, once again drawing eyes back to the GAP brand, putting themselves in the limelight with other influential fashion brands.

 

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Where does this leave us?

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All three campaigns highlight both the potential and the risks of celebrity-driven marketing. Levi’s “Reiimagine” with Beyonce set the bar high, integrating cultural storytelling with brand history and heritage. The brand delivered not just a campaign, but a narrative that resonated emotionally and commercially, emphasising a lifestyle.

 

American Eagle’s Sydney Sweeney collaboration, however, shows the dangers of shallow and poor execution. An incredibly negatively loaded slogan and lack of compelling narrative turned what could have been a major breakthrough into a setback for the company, generating consumer trust without consumer loyalty or trust. 

 

GAP’s “better in denim” with Katseye demonstrates a refreshing improvement in GAP’s marketing campaign strategy. Nostalgic undertones from Kelis’ Milkshake and the group’s diversity tapped into both belonging and individuality, helping to spur cultural significance within GAP once again while also boosting sales. Although the brand could have benefited from deeper connections with the girl group, this campaign is a step towards a very bright future. 

 

Overall, the message couldn’t be clearer. Celebrities in marketing campaigns should be used to develop and nurture belonging and emotional connection within a consumer in an authentic and lasting way.