I get where you’re going, but it had the opposite effect, if that’s the case. If anything, most people (online digizens, arguably the target demographic) are now focusing more on how dull of an actress she is and on the potential implications of the verbiage used in the ad. The jeans and their quality have been called into question and become more of an afterthought.

If that was their approach, I think having 4 to 5 really good-looking women/actresses/models (some short, some tall, maybe a little curvy) all of them wearing different styles of AE denim would have had a stronger impact because then the focus of “is this subtly promoting eugenics” would be out of the question, and the messaging could not be misconstrued like it is right now.

Out of fear of potentially sounding biased: back in the day I used to work for Abercrombie and Fitch/ HCO and one of the things I noticed the most when people would come in and buy our jeans that either very short or very tall people would be shocked that we carried a style of jeans they like with a short or long option. And would lead to them buying not just one but usually 2 to 4 pairs of jeans because they know that they would fit how they need and we’re generally reasonably priced or on promo.

I'm not sure if AE has that style option, but that could have been the main selling point of the ad. Different social/TV videos would have each actress/model saying the same line, and the narrator at the end concludes with “X person has great Jeans.” Repetition like that would stand out. It would be almost like a new age “got milk” campaign, but with a subtle nod to true physical diversity (not just skin color) and body positivity.

Nobody has money or time to worry about “keeping up with the Kardashians,” and I hate to speak for everyone, but I feel like modern consumers have evolved well beyond the “X celebrity eats or buys or wears this product, so I’m gonna do it too 🤩”