Tongue-in-Cheek or Tone-Deaf? What We Can Learn From American Eagle and Dunkin’s Latest Ads

When I first saw American Eagle’s campaign with Sydney Sweeney, I couldn’t help but pause—not because the wordplay missed the mark, but because the context did.

Tongue-in-cheek is a style of humor rooted in sarcasm and irony. It’s playful by design. But it works best when the tone, the brand, and the talent delivering it are all aligned. Without that alignment, clever quickly turns into cringe.

Had this campaign featured someone known for comedy, it might have landed better—not perfectly, but perhaps with more grace. Comedians come with context: Audiences expect irreverence; they understand the wink. But Sweeney isn’t a comic. And American Eagle isn’t a brand known for subversive humor. So the joke doesn’t land with a laugh. It lands with confusion.

This isn’t about perfection, it’s about perception. And it isn’t just about American Eagle, either.

Take Dunkin’s recent campaign featuring Gavin Casalegno from The Summer I Turned Pretty. In the spot, he calls himself “The King of Summer” and says his tan is “genetic,” adding that “the sun just finds me” every time he drinks a Golden Hour Refresher. The line was likely meant as a tie-in to his show, but without the reference point, and in a cultural climate that’s hyperaware of coded language, it raises concerns. When people are fighting for belonging in every space from the boardroom to the border, messages that hint at superiority (even jokingly) can trigger deeper questions: Who gets to be seen? Who’s considered beautiful? Who’s the default?

In a time when humor can either humanize a brand or tank its reputation, marketers are stuck in the tension between wit and risk. And that pressure is real. Wendy’s has mastered that balance with its Twitter presence, a lesson in sustained sarcasm: The brand roasts competitors, replies with memes, and engages in fast-food flame wars, and it works not just because it’s funny, but because the brand has committed to that voice long term.

Today’s audience is paying attention not just to what is said, but who’s saying it, how it’s said, and whether they’re in on the joke. Shifting attitudes around beauty, race, and representation have made it clear: People want to feel seen, valued, and respected. And brands that miss that memo can quickly find themselves on the wrong side of the scroll.

This isn’t about cancel culture, it’s about consequence culture. Missteps don’t always come from malice, but they often come from a lack of perspective. And when a brand finds itself at the center of controversy, it typically faces a few options: issue an apology or acknowledgment, pull the campaign, stay silent, or double down.

So why did American Eagle stay the course?

Why brands double down

While the backlash and online discourse continued—maybe more than some expected or would have liked—American Eagle made its choice and doubled down. I believe they did so because the perceived reward of buzz, visibility, and lift in stock outweighed the short-term backlash. A week or two of controversy can feel like a worthwhile trade-off if it keeps people talking.

But more than that, I think American Eagle just doesn’t care about appeasing everyone. And that’s a shift worth paying attention to.

For years, brands have felt pressure to issue carefully worded statements, launch DEI initiatives, or rework campaigns to show cultural awareness. But now, we’re entering a new phase, one where wokeness is being openly politicized, weaponized, and spun into backlash marketing. The old model of “saying the right thing to keep everyone happy” no longer applies. In fact, trying to be everything to everyone is starting to feel off-brand.

We may be witnessing the rise of a new brand posture: Let people criticize. Let people be mad. Let people shop anyway.

It’s the marketing application of Mel Robbins’ Let Them theory. Let them misunderstand, let them talk—if the jeans fit, wear them. If they don’t, there are other brands.

That’s not to say AE is taking a moral stance here, but they are making a strategic one. One that feels anchored less in apology and more in identity. Think of it like Chick-fil-A choosing to close on Sundays: The decision comes with consequences. Some people protest. Others respect the consistency. But either way, the brand stands firm. That posture, whether spiritual, political, or just deeply on-brand, is becoming more common.

Which raises an even bigger question: Is this a brand misstep, or is it the beginning of a new tone? What if American Eagle isn’t reacting impulsively but repositioning intentionally? What if this isn’t just a cheeky campaign but a signal of a new creative direction? 

Brands evolve. And every evolution has a launch moment. Maybe this one just happened to start with a pun.

Any change is uncomfortable at first. Three months from now, we might look back and say AE was ahead of the curve—testing a sharper voice, a different tone, a new kind of cultural calculus. That’s why it’s critical, especially now, for marketers to take steps before launching any culturally resonant campaign.

Build a cultural council

Create a collective of people—those who reflect your target audience and those who don’t—to provide insight throughout the process. Internally, that might be a representative from an ERG or someone from an adjacent department not directly tied to the campaign. The key isn’t just to ask what people like, but to ask how people feel.

Most importantly, there must be space for open, unfiltered feedback. You need people in the room who can raise a hand and say, “This might be a problem,” before it becomes one.

Test early, internally and externally

Don’t wait to test your work until after the final cut. Put your creative in front of people who don’t look, live, or think like your team, and do it early in the process. If it doesn’t land there, it won’t land anywhere. If something feels off or needs adjustment, you still have the time and the budget to pivot with intention rather than scramble under pressure.

Don’t just ask “Is this witty?” Ask, “Is this clear? Is this safe? Could this offend?” If you’re not sure, ask H&M how its “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” sweatshirt turned out. It wasn’t intentional, but it was avoidable.

Good marketing isn’t just about being clever. It’s about being aware. In a culture where every campaign is a conversation, your brand’s tone isn’t just what you say—it’s how you’re heard. So, if you’re planning to play it cheeky, be sure your audience is in on the joke. After all, maybe American Eagle really does just have good genes … I mean jeans.