Great Jeans? Reimagining a Controversial Campaign

miamcglynnphotogra
Aug 5
3 min read

It was the sexy voice heard round the world. When American Eagle's latest campaign hit

the airwaves, suddenly there was an outrage. The name Sydney Sweeney and the concept of having "great jeans" started making headlines and it got my attention... and seemingly, everyone else's. But, I wasn't viewing so much as a consumer, rather as a photographer, storyteller, and marketer.

Blonde middle aged female squatted, wearing all denim. — While I thought about the drama surrounding the American Eagle- Sydney Sweeney- Great Jeans Campaign, I also thought: What if I could make that concept my own?

The ads were everywhere. People were talking. Some were praising the boldness, others were criticizing through the lens of a particular narrative.

What I was seeing? A campaign that was getting astounding reach using zero extra dollars. All those voices. All those shares. Good or bad. They were serving the ads up like ice cream on the hottest day of summer. It was in everyone's mouth.

And while I thought about all the drama and what my own opinion might be, I also thought: What if I could take that concept and make it my own? (And, spoiler alert: I don't get easily offended. It's a pretty girl modeling jeans. The voiceover was a little more sultry that I cared for, but so what.)

For me, “great jeans” aren’t perfect, airbrushed, or even fresh off the rack.

They’re lived in. Thrifted. Weathered. They tell stories. They have character, like the people

Blonde woman with hands in jean pockets, stretch-marked midriff showing. — "Great jeans" aren't perfect, airbrushed, or even fresh off the rack.

who wear them.

So I decided I was running with this. I was creating my own version of the campaign.

A creative experiment, on what should have been a "day off", that turned into something bigger: a reflection of what I really believe.

Middle-aged.

Stretch marks.

Small-chested.

Tattooed.

Dyed hair.

Thrifted denim.

That’s me.

That's the reality that my jeans hold.

When I pull on a pair of jeans, they are fitted with my history, my choices, and the confidence I’ve built over time. They may have been passed down, but that means nothing to how I wear them.

The Mindset Behind It All

Mia McGlynn leans over the luggage rack of a red vintage convertible in a garage. — We get to decide.

Here’s the thing: I’ve always believed that “genes” aren’t a fixed destiny.

I might be set up different. I might be inherently flawed. But how I feel in my own skin isn’t about the hand I was dealt.

It IS about the mindset I bring to it.

Call it “delu‑lu” if you want, but I really believe we get to decide how our “genes” show up in our lives... in the world.

Confidence isn’t sewn into the fabric of who we are. We stitch that in ourselves.

And when we do that? It changes everything... how we carry our bodies, how we tell our stories, even how we work and build our businesses.

What This Means for My Work

This campaign isn’t about me.

It’s about every one of us. It's about clients who want to show up authentically.

It's about kids who want to embrace their uniqueness.

It's about teens who want to feel comfortable in their skin.

It's about parents who want to feel seen as more than the purposes they serve.

It's about business owners and professionals who want to show up as the human beings they are.

At McGlynn Media, my job is to help people and businesses wear their stories well. To feel confident in how they’re seen. To create visuals and content that are lived in, real, and distinctly their own.

Just like my favorite pair of thrifted jeans can be styled in a way that feels fresh, your story can be reframed and told in ways that feel right, real, and true to you.

Why It Matters in the Bigger Picture

Marketing is a living, breathing thing. Sometimes it inspires. Sometimes it stirs controversy.

But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that great campaigns start conversations.

This project is my way of engaging with that conversation. I'm not rejecting the original idea or mimicking it. I'm simply embracing and reframing it in a way that feels more like me.

I think we can do that in life and in business... move in ways that are inspired, not emotional.