Denim Wars: Partnerships, Responsiveness, and the New Rules of Marketing

American Eagle and Gap Jeans Campaigns

From Billboards to Cultural Battlegrounds

Partnerships have always been powerful tools in a brand’s arsenal. Once, they were about splashy billboards, glossy endorsements, and catchphrases designed to stick in consumers’ minds. The formula was simple: place a celebrity next to the product, pair it with a clever line, and wait for the sales lift.

That model doesn’t work anymore. Today, partnerships aren’t just advertising; they’re cultural tests. Audiences don’t passively receive campaigns; they actively interpret, question, and respond to them in real time. The key metric is no longer, “Did people see it?” but “Did it resonate, and how did the brand respond?”

This shift raises the stakes. A partnership that feels authentic and inclusive can create momentum and loyalty overnight. Two recent denim campaigns, American Eagle’s collaboration with Sydney Sweeney and Gap’s partnership with KATSEYE, highlight both sides of this equation.

Case Study 1: American Eagle x Sydney Sweeney

American Eagle enlisted Sydney Sweeney, one of Gen Z’s most recognizable stars, to headline its latest denim campaign. The choice seemed obvious: Sweeney commands cultural visibility, and her personal brand carries aspirational appeal.

But execution tripped up the strategy. The ad leaned on the tagline “great jeans/genes,” an old-school pun that once might have passed as cheeky, but today, landed as shallow and problematic. Instead of creating a connection, it surfaced uncomfortable undertones around personal genetics.

The real damage, however, came not from the creative misstep but from what followed. As criticism gained traction online, American Eagle stayed silent. There was no reframing of the campaign and no acknowledgement of consumer sentiment.

American Eagle x Sydney Sweeney

In the absence of response, critics, celebrities, and even political figures filled the void.

What was intended as a high-profile partnership designed to win cultural relevance instead became a cautionary tale: without alignment and real time engagement, even the biggest names can’t protect a brand from backlash.

Case Study 2: Gap x KATSEYE

 Gap x KATSEYE

Gap’s denim push unfolded very differently. The brand teamed up with KATSEYE, a global girl group celebrated for its diversity and youth appeal. This choice signaled an embrace of inclusivity and a nod to the rising influence of international pop collectives.

Their execution pushed past the limits of traditional advertising. Instead of a slogan, it delivered a cultural moment: performances, music-driven content, nostalgia-infused styling, and multi-platform storytelling. The results were immediate and organic.

Audiences celebrated the campaign across social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where music and fashion intersect naturally. Media outlets described it as “Gap’s most viral push” in years, reframing the brand not as a relic of mall culture, but as a relevant player in today’s cultural conversation.

Gap’s takeaway is distinct. Where American Eagle showed the risk of leaning on old tropes and failing to respond, Gap demonstrated that authenticity plus amplification equals momentum. By aligning values, delivering an experience, and leaning into cultural dialogue, it transformed a denim drop into a broader brand reset.

The 3 R’s of Modern Partnerships

 

The contrast between American Eagle and Gap underscores a bigger truth, partnerships today are judged against three factors: Relevance, Resonance, Responsiveness.

• Relevance: Does the partner align with the brand’s values and cultural positioning?
  • AE: Sydney Sweeney brought fame but the creative execution failed to align with Gen Z’s expectations.
  • Gap: KATSEYE embodied inclusivity and global youth culture, reinforcing the campaign’s intent.
• Resonance: Does the collaboration spark authentic cultural connection?
  • AE: A pun masquerading as clever creative fell flat, missing the chance to connect emotionally.
  • Gap: Nostalgia paired with diverse representation created a cultural narrative audiences wanted to share.
• Responsiveness: How does the brand engage once the campaign enters the public sphere?
  • AE: Silence allowed criticism to spiral unchecked.
  • Gap: Active amplification ensured positive reception grew into cultural momentum.

This framework turns the American Eagle vs. Gap comparison into something larger than two denim ads, it’s a lens for evaluating modern partnerships across industries. Brands that succeed will be those that measure partnerships not by visibility but by their performance across all three dimensions. From fashion and travel to even cutting-edge fields like automotive and electronics, the same three factors decide whether a partnership falls flat or succeeds.

The New Rules of Marketing

The denim wars also reflect a generational shift in marketing itself.

 The Old Model

• Partnerships were transactional: sponsored celebrity + catchphrase = advertisement.
• Brands controlled the narrative and dictated the message.
• Audiences had little platform to critique or reshape these campaigns.

The New Model

• Partnerships are cultural strategies: they must reflect values, not just fame.
• Campaigns are participatory: audiences expect to interact, resonate, and respond.
• Responsiveness and transparency are not optional, they are the difference between celebratory acceptance and backlash.

Put simply, marketing has moved from a monologue to a dialogue. The brands that still treat partnerships as one-way endorsements risk positive reviews. Those that treat them as cultural conversations position themselves to thrive.

Lessons Learned

When viewed through this lens, the denim wars illustrate two extremes:

• American Eagle’s risk: Outdated tropes showed what happens when partnerships are treated as shortcuts rather than strategies.
• Gap’s strength: Cultural alignment, authentic storytelling, and active development turned a collaboration into a viral moment of brand reinvention.

The deciding factor wasn’t budget or star power,  it was how well the partnership performed against the three factors of Relevance, Resonance, and Responsiveness. 

Both campaigns launched from the same category, with similar goals, during the same time. One faltered under lack of responsibility; the other flourished by leaning into cultural reality.

That’s the blueprint for modern marketing. And it’s where Regatta helps brands not just avoid missteps but transform partnerships into engines of cultural momentum.

Regatta POV: Designing Partnerships That Thrive

Our work with brands is built around stress-testing partnerships against the 3R’s:

• Relevance: Does this partner extend the brand’s values and cultural positioning?
• Resonance: Will the collaboration create authentic connection across channels and communities?
• Responsiveness: Is the brand prepared to engage with audiences in real time, whether amplification or course correction is needed?

At Regatta, we don’t just help brands manage today’s partnerships, we help them anticipate tomorrow’s cultural currents, so they’re ready for what’s next.