In an episode of Mad Men, the hit show about Manhattan’s advertising industry in the 1960s, a pitch to Pepsi involving a Bye Bye Birdie copycat commercial flopped. Sterling Cooper executive Roger Sterling summed up why they blew it: “It’s not Ann-Margret.”
From time immemorial, brands have placed their products in the hands of stunning starlets with cult followings in the hopes that it will entice consumers to spend money to be like them. The calculus was no different with American Eagle, which released an ad featuring Sydney Sweeney, a dream girl for millions of normal men and women alike, sporting their classic denim.
When the Sweeney ad dropped, many in America saw a blonde bombshell they adore flaunting her trim figure in jeans. Leftists heard a Nazi dog whistle. Here’s where . . . |
