#Aeriereal keeps it real!

By Kassandra Lopez, Global Strategic Communications graduate student at the University of Florida

‘Aerie’ which is a subset of American Eagle outfitters, is a brand that practices what they preach. Aerie offers comfortable underwear and pajamas, aimed at women who want to look cute while lounging about. They began their #Aeriereal campaign back in 2014, it centered around using only unaltered photos in their ads and not altering the representation of models or products. Aerie has remained true to its message ever since.

The campaign is so simple but has deep roots in battling against the rampant misrepresentation of the female form in ads, particularly for lingerie. I know that when I think of lingerie, a heavily doctored photo of a long, slim model donning that classic VS logo comes to mind. Aerie portrays real women, in their natural state, a concept that is rather refreshing to see!

As the campaign has progressed, Aerie has not backed down. They have grown even more inclusive. They have included models of all ages, sizes, skin tones, ethnic backgrounds, and even disabled status. Yes, Aerie is the only mainstream brand that openly features its products in association with varying degrees of disability. The results have been overwhelming for the brand, their sales have continuously improved.

In addition to the brand showcasing its mission by being inclusive of who represents Aerie products on its site, commercials, and print ads. They use social media to continue this, by often displaying user-generated content. This brings the effort full circle, as this UGC ties in their audience. Making customers feel and be ambassadors for the brand and its mission. Aerie closes the circle, they ask customers what they want, create those items and then display feedback via social media platforms. Aerie creates a feedback loop when they inquire as to what products customers want to see, they adequately close this loop and include their audience every step of the way!

As shown by the comments on this UGC post, Aerie goes as far as to have accessibility options for the visually impaired! Aerie has truly built its brand around being accessible and has been true to it’s to all, and encouraging as well. Price points are low, and they often have sales (unafraid of how discounting products may come off!).

Yet, from personal experience, their quality is on par with many more higher-end brands. Their branding and campaign feel genuine, in a time when many brands get it wrong. Aerie listens and gets its right! They have created a social media community using this hashtag! Hundreds of posts are made daily, and it has been around for 7 years!

Their success is very meaningful for the progression of social media marketing. The concept behind #AerieReal is not new, but it is the best execution I have seen of a ‘realness’ campaign. Why? Because it has stayed real. They didn’t preach inclusively but forget about those whose different nature was often considered not attractive, such as the disabled.

They didn’t refuse to showcase a product on a model in a wheelchair because it hid the product, they simply adjusted how they demonstrated it. It highlights not only that highly altered photos are not needed to sell a product, but that consumers do not need to be tricked into purchasing. Showcasing people of all kinds has made Aerie relatable and I for one will continue to be a fan of this campaign and a loyal purchaser of the brand.