American Eagle and Aerie's Relatable Models

Starting in the summer of 2018, Aerie, the women's underwear selling arm of American Eagle, unveiled their new lineup of models. To everyone's surprise and joy, these models weren't conventional but were instead real people. Aerie is no longer using Photoshop or any other photo editor to edit their models. Their models are now proudly and happily flawed; just like regular people.

They have models in wheelchairs, with insulin pumps, with skin defects, with tattoos and in all the sizes that Aerie and American Eagle sells (which is quite varied).

This campaign is brilliant for many reasons. Firstly, it's great because there have been many feminists, particularly young women and teen girls, who have made calls for more realistic standards in models and less Photoshop. Young women are tired of comparing themselves to the many edited models which are used by many companies. Even in recent years, companies such as Abercrombie and Urban Outfitters (competitors of American Eagle) have gotten bad press for only catering to thinner girls with their products and offering insulting designs to people who weigh more.

Secondly, these models are relatable. They're real people wearing clothes that we want to buy. When looking at products on models, especially online, there is always the question of "could I wear that?" ringing in my brain. With this campaign, you can see what the clothing will look like on a body like your own, and you can feel way more comfortable making that purchase. With their Aerie products in particular, there is a much greater selection of their products online than in an American Eagle store. While they are more common in Aerie stores, Aerie shops are few and far between. Because of this, many costumers are only looking at their products online, and their website is exactly where they are seeing these new models. So few companies show their products on such a variety of people that it's refreshing to see on American Eagle's pages. And while the models began only on Aerie products, the entire American Eagle and Aerie online shop and in store shops are now filled with models that look and are real people.

This campaign has had a huge amount of success in the earned media it has gained from their body positivity and their unique models. Their new models were covered from sources from USA Today to People Magazine to the Today Show.

American Eagle also is continuing the celebration of self love with their hashtag, #AExME, which allows anybody to take pictures of themselves wearing an American Eagle or Aerie product and post it. When people use the hashtag, they have the chance of being put on American Eagle's website or on American Eagle's social media. Customers are a part of their brand, and they can see real customers wearing the actual products when they go to the website. Plus, if you see one of your friends tag a really cute shirt they're wearing on Instagram with American Eagle, you're going to be more interested in that shirt too. This can also create greater Search Engine Optimization (SEO) on their website through daily updates of the social media posts.

The body positivity didn't stop in 2018 though. This year, in advance of the new spring season, American Eagle has released their new #AExME cast, featuring bios and photos of nine people who posted photos of themselves using their hashtag in the past year. These bios were posted on their blog.

Another hashtag that Aerie uses is #AerieREAL, which is simply put: "Girl power. Body positivity. No retouching." according to their website. I think this also really captures the vibe of their whole campaign, although with more gender neutrality on the full American Eagle side of things. They're advocating for non-retouched photos and trying to let real people know that their clothes are for them. Honestly, it is definitely working on me. I recently bought my swimsuit from their site and I've got even more of their clothes in my closet.