California Wishing

Mitchell Keller
TA: Laura Bennett

Advertising guru’s have continually attracted the eyes and ears of the American people with catch phrases, well placed music, comedic satire, and self-questioning. If an ad fails to draw the attention of a targeted individual, it is considered a failure. Hours are spent determining what people buy what products and also what drives these people to buy them. In some regards it may be considered an art, let’s face it; there’s a visual and audio display that often leads to contemplation. Some would argue they are demeaning and treat the American people as idiots or mindless sheep. One company, however, does attempt to take advantage of the fact that people, in some instances, are in fact clueless followers. While I will try to remain unbiased about my opinion of American Eagle Outfitters, it’s obvious its ad campaigns have continually followed a certain structure and often times repeat themes time and time again. The American Eagle Outfitters ad shown below uses young men and woman, the beach, and up-beat-music and text to create desire for friendship, fun and relaxation, and a “no-worries” attitude on life.



In this advertisement the viewers see a group of friends playing Frisbee with a dog on the beach as well as playing volleyball and participating in other physical activities. All of the action is fast paced, and the young adults are constantly smiling. In one moment, a man picks up a girl and carries her into the water, and then they playfully run back to the sand as waves come crashing in. The ad is trying to portray the enjoyment an individual may be experiencing with his or her own friends, or, possibly creating the desire of having these kinds of moments. While the intention may not be to appeal to kids who hang out on the beach all day, it certainly creates the feeling of wanting to have a day on the beach with a golden Labrador and some of your closest allies.

The beach itself holds a strong message for viewers. The area is highly secluded and the only people we see are the four of five friends that came together. Connotatively the beach says “relaxation” and “fun”. Especially considering the massive uprising of “beach life” in today’s young American culture, it seems evident the AE Outfitters ad is jumping on the Orange County bandwagon as well. Sitcoms and clothing stores have, in too many ways, linked together (Hollister does so with MTV’s Laguna Beach) and this ad tries to relate the feelings of relaxation and “easy-goingness”, seen on TV, with the lives of possible customers. Essentially, the advertisement wants its viewers to believe that, while there may not be any warm saltwater oceans in Wisconsin or Wyoming, there are American Eagle Outfitters, and we can all dress in that relaxed beach atmosphere simply by putting on their clothes.

Finally, the beach uses a catchy song and phrases in order to portray the infamous feeling of hakuna matata, or more simply, “no-worries”. The song has a fast and repetitive guitar rift with imperfect and lazy vocals whining on top. The song gives the “driving in the car” kind of feel, or something that would be played when someone is in a more positive or active mood. The lyrics in the song even say, “Well it’s all going to be alright, hanging around, hanging around.” Now, if viewers didn’t get the idea of being easy going and not having a care in the world, the advertisement goes one step further by displaying it in text. With the song still playing, the words: No Cares No Worries. The Day Unfolds, pops onto the screen. Without being redundant, it is quite clear that AE Outfitters is attempting to sell the idea of mental freedom from the problems in our lives. With some “kick back” music and rather blatant text, AE brings in customers believing that the product may bring peace of mind. However, this style of commercial has not been the first time American Eagle Outfitters has used these specific desires as selling points.



When comparing the second commercial (above) with the original, it’s hard to tell a difference. All of the facts from before are present, yet again, in fact, one may find enough evidence to say that it is the same exact beach used in the first ad. We see a group of young adults parading about what looks to be a photo shoot for American Eagle itself. However, we have reason to believe these models really are just friends and see them engaging in sports activities on the beach. Some moments are painfully repetitive, especially when we see another young man lifting up a girl near the water and also witness a man skipping stones into the ocean, another activity the teens engaged in for the first ad. Finally, another active and upbeat song is played in the background with the same style of disjointed vocals as the original.

While it may be easy to pick on American Eagle for the repetition, it can be witnessed in other campaigns as well. These two are simply easy examples of the methods use by advertisers today. It shows a great amount of the redundancy in these ads and leads me, as a viewer, to assume that it must actually be working. For some it’s easy to look past the obvious implications in the ad but for me I simply see the selling of a lifestyle that has been completely fabricated by sitcoms. So ironically, people are buying into a life that isn’t even real, but instead an exaggerated representation of what life on the coast is actually like. Yet, the longer this notion survives the more people tend to adapt the lifestyle, despite it’s fallacy. So with a thumbs up from writers and directors of these sitcoms, American Eagle Outfitters continues to sell California desires with attractive people, the ocean, and music.