Gap's denim ad: Katseye's Lara Raj has powerful response to viral Instagram post

Gap's popular 'Better in Denim' campaign has led to a viral Instagram post about representation which sparked a powerful yet wholesome response from Katseye's Lara Raj.

Gap launched its new campaign with an advert that shows global girl group Katseye leading a 90-second performance to Kelis' 'Milkshake'.

The group leads a high-energy routine set against a minimal backdrop with a diverse range of dancers featured.

It's gone so viral that celebrities across social media have been recreating the routine.

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Megha Rao, an entrepreneur, posted a viral image on Instagram of Lara Raj from Katseye in the Gap campaign.

Explaining why she took a photo of Raj's Gap campaign and shared it, Rao said: "For me, it was a powerful reminder that our kids get to grow up with the kind of representation seven-year-old me could only dream of. That little girl who always wondered why a face like hers was never in magazines gets to raise a daughter who takes it for granted. That's progress."

And Raj herself commented on the post and said: "This made me cry, it was always my dream to have Indian, especially South Indian representation as a little girl and I always longed for that. It's my #1 MISSION to make sure brown girls growing up and the entire South Asian community feels uplifted and powerful and confident."

This is in contrast to Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle campaign which was largely negatively received.

Sweeney fronted the denim brand's Autumn 2025 campaign which has the tagline 'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans' and plays on the similarity between the words 'jeans' and 'genes'.

In one of the ads, Sweeney said: "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour. My jeans are blue."

But it sparked criticism online, with some users uncomfortable over what they see as a conflation of genetics and beauty standards. Others have gone further, calling the campaign 'eugenics rage bait'.

Sweeney has not directly addressed the backlash but recently returned to Instagram with a series of casual photos.

In an Instagram post, American Eagle said: "'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans' is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We'll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone."

Elsewhere from indy100:

• US government account copies Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle ad and people aren't happy
• Did Sydney Sweeney vote Republican? American Eagle advert fallout explained

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