I made this post:

myrmepropagandist (@futurebird@sauropods.win)

When I was a kid I thought that Kate Moss was famous just to sell me bluejeans. The "teen-aged supermodel sensation" functioned a bit like a real-life Cinderella story for little girls in the 90s. When I was in middle school everyone wanted to be just like Kate Moss. To hear her tell it? It was not such a romanic journey. And in many ways her story is a *best* case scenario. Because by cultivating that desire it could be exploited. Is this still going on? (update: yes, of course it is)

Sauropods.win (sauropods.win)

*before* hearing about the Sydney Sweeney controversy. Maybe some of you thought this was about that? It wasn't.

But I do think "something is in the air." In the zeitgeist.

To summarize: Actress Sydney Sweeney just made a commercial for American Eagle. It echos an infamous 1980 commercial by then underage supermodel Brooke Shields.

This is the original ad. "good jeans"

1/

Advertisers try to speak to the id. I'm not surprised American Eagle wants to try to recapture themes of that older commercial. But, they didn't just copy, they have leaned into new themes.

Sydney Sweeney, like Brooke Shields talks about her "good jeans" but also, in case the whistle wasn't loud enough her blue eyes and how they are passed on from parent to child.

This ad will be regarded as very successful and we may see more of it. Isn't that depressing?

2/2

I'm not linking the new ad since people linking it to discuss it is part of why it's "successful" and I hate this trend for multiple reasons.

All you need to know is it's a lot like the old one but Sydney Sweeney is blonde and mentions she has blue eyes. Sydney Sweeney is not underage, but she's very youthful.

I have no idea if she personally has thoughts on any of this. I'm just interested in how "politics" can seep into advertising.

And what the cultural mirror is showing us.

I guess don't buy American Eagle if you can avoid it. But, really you shouldn't buy American Eagle because they sell the same poorly constructed clothing found at many chains.

If you want to look good in jeans I recommend made to measure. A perfect fit will make you look amazing and almost no one has clothing that fits unless they can sew. If you can't sew, consider having a thrift piece altered by a tailor. This can be done for less than retail sometimes. That's how you get "good jeans"

A substantial portion of the money a company like American Eagle spends on developing a product goes into marketing and image. Trying to produce ads that will catch a headline, trigger deep nostalgia, ads that make people feel things.

That's why although the Brooke Shields controversy in 1980 was seen as negative in the general press in the advertising trade papers it was a highly admired campaign and lead to the thinking that having people fret about your underaged models was "effective"

I love reading advertising trade papers. They are so earnestly engaged in finding ways to manipulate our emotions to sell product and I think once you see that the glamor is broken.

It doesn't feel good to be manipulated. I was definitely manipulated by this kind of advertising as a teen, and still can be swayed even now. But, understanding how it functions makes it easier to see how it could be happening.

I guess don't buy American Eagle if you can avoid it. But, really you shouldn't buy American Eagle because they sell the same poorly constructed clothing found at many chains.

If you want to look good in jeans I recommend made to measure. A perfect fit will make you look amazing and almost no one has clothing that fits unless they can sew. If you can't sew, consider having a thrift piece altered by a tailor. This can be done for less than retail sometimes. That's how you get "good jeans"

I guess don't buy American Eagle if you can avoid it. But, really you shouldn't buy American Eagle because they sell the same poorly constructed clothing found at many chains.

If you want to look good in jeans I recommend made to measure. A perfect fit will make you look amazing and almost no one has clothing that fits unless they can sew. If you can't sew, consider having a thrift piece altered by a tailor. This can be done for less than retail sometimes. That's how you get "good jeans"

I guess don't buy American Eagle if you can avoid it. But, really you shouldn't buy American Eagle because they sell the same poorly constructed clothing found at many chains.

If you want to look good in jeans I recommend made to measure. A perfect fit will make you look amazing and almost no one has clothing that fits unless they can sew. If you can't sew, consider having a thrift piece altered by a tailor. This can be done for less than retail sometimes. That's how you get "good jeans"

@futurebird Any in particular you'd recommend?

I'm buying American Eagle jeans for sure now. For me and all my kids. Intersectional Identity anti-white Woke Marxism can pound sand.

@futurebird

I go through jeans too fast to get them altered. I buy them at the charity shop and wear them (on rotation) until they're actually indecent (by which time they'll be used only for gardening and wood-splitting).

Call me tragically old — I'll wear that — but I do find that stretch jeans look better and are more comfortable than others. (For context, I'm approaching retirement, but I take jeans in a 32" waist and my lower body's still presentable.) I don't know why everyone doesn't prefer them.

@futurebird any recommendations on where to get made to measure?

I love reading advertising trade papers. They are so earnestly engaged in finding ways to manipulate our emotions to sell product and I think once you see that the glamor is broken.

It doesn't feel good to be manipulated. I was definitely manipulated by this kind of advertising as a teen, and still can be swayed even now. But, understanding how it functions makes it easier to see how it could be happening.

A substantial portion of the money a company like American Eagle spends on developing a product goes into marketing and image. Trying to produce ads that will catch a headline, trigger deep nostalgia, ads that make people feel things.

That's why although the Brooke Shields controversy in 1980 was seen as negative in the general press in the advertising trade papers it was a highly admired campaign and lead to the thinking that having people fret about your underaged models was "effective"

A substantial portion of the money a company like American Eagle spends on developing a product goes into marketing and image. Trying to produce ads that will catch a headline, trigger deep nostalgia, ads that make people feel things.

That's why although the Brooke Shields controversy in 1980 was seen as negative in the general press in the advertising trade papers it was a highly admired campaign and lead to the thinking that having people fret about your underaged models was "effective"