By: Zofia Zwieglinska | Link to article
Aerie is taking a clear stance against AI-generated bodies.
In October 2025, the American Eagle Outfitters–owned intimates brand formalized its latest commitment: “100% Aerie Real,” a pledge to never use AI-generated people or bodies in its marketing. The move builds on its 2014 decision to stop retouching models, a policy that helped define the brand’s identity and set it apart in the intimates market.
Now, the company is scaling that message with its most visible campaign to date, anchored by a film starring Pamela Anderson. The spot opens inside a stark, AI-generated interface that mimics a prompt exchange, with Anderson’s voice directing the system to generate models, adjust their look, and refine their mood and energy. Each output appears instantly, but none feels fully human. A camera shutter interrupts the sequence, collapsing the artificial setting and cutting to a live Aerie shoot, where the same models reappear as real models, moving and interacting on set. Anderson is revealed at the center of it, delivering the line, “You can’t prompt this.”
Her recent reintroduction into culture on her own terms inspired the casting. Over the past three years, Anderson has stepped away from heavy styling and digital polish, appearing publicly without makeup and speaking openly about rejecting artificial beauty standards, a shift that has resonated across fashion and media.
Jennifer Foyle, president and executive creative director of American Eagle and Aerie, tied the pledge to the brand’s long-standing approach. “Aerie set a new standard for the industry in 2014 when we promised to never retouch our models, and it hasn’t wavered from keeping authenticity at the forefront of everything the brand stands for,” she said. “Now, the commitment to 100% Aerie Real is a reaffirmation that everything our community sees from us is the same ‘real’ they see when they look in the mirror.”
The push comes as generative AI tools continue to blur the line between real and synthetic content. Since 2024, brands including H&M and Mango have tested AI-generated models in campaigns, while Zara and Nike have expanded AI across marketing and product development, according to The Guardian, Business of Fashion and Business Insider.
Stacey McCormick, Aerie’s CMO, said the industry changes prompted the brand to make its position explicit. “Now, more than ever, we get a sense that people don’t know what they see today. Is it real? Is it not? Is it generated?” she said, talking about how brands show up on social media and their sites. “We want people to feel confident when they look at our images and our marketing. It should make them feel assured that what they see is what they get.”
Inside the business, the commitment extends across teams and processes. “It really is shifting the culture of the company,” McCormick said. “It’s an operational commitment that touches leadership, partnerships and the creative process. We’ve had to define very clearly what we will do and what we won’t do.”
That includes drawing a clear boundary around how AI is used. “We’re not resisting AI,” she said. “We are redefining the value of AI. In an industry where everything is generated, real becomes unique, and real becomes special, and real becomes rare.” The guidelines prohibit the use of AI-generated people or bodies across campaigns and creator content, while allowing AI tools in areas like media buying, analytics and performance marketing.
The same standards apply to external partners. Creators working with the brand are required to avoid AI-generated content, even as platforms introduce more generative tools into their ecosystems. Instagram, owned by Meta, has rolled out AI-powered editing and image-generation features for creators, while expanding AI across advertising and content production. At the same time, Instagram head Adam Mosseri has said in recent posts and interviews with Business Insider that the rise of AI-generated content is making it harder to distinguish what is real, as the platform pushes toward greater transparency around synthetic media.
The strategy is also supported by continued investment in physical retail and in-person experiences. Stores account for roughly half of the business, according to McCormick, and Aerie continues to open more than 40 locations a year, alongside IRL events designed to deepen community connection.
Since introducing the message in October, the brand has seen double-digit growth in awareness, alongside consistent engagement across social channels. McCormick pointed to trust as a key factor at the point of purchase. “If you’re looking at something on your screen and about to hit go, but you can’t quite tell if that’s a real garment or something that’s been generated, that matters,” she said. “Trusting what you see is very important.”
Foyle said the goal is to reinforce that relationship with customers while setting a clear standard. “As AI and digital technologies blur the lines of creativity and reality, we knew it was time for Aerie to take a clear stance on our values and our marketing,” she said. “If our commitment strengthens our relationship with our customers and helps drive more transparency across the industry, then we’ve done what we set out to do.”
The campaign will run across paid and owned channels, including YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, Disney, HBO, NBCUniversal, Roku and Samsung, alongside Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest. The 100% Aerie Real pledge will continue to appear across all brand touchpoints, from national campaigns to in-store messaging.
For Aerie, the message is straightforward: what customers see is real.
