The news: 2025 delivered several memorable ads that generated buzz, sparked purchases, and spearheaded emerging trends—offering lessons for brands looking to drive the cultural conversation.

Here are EMARKETER’s top three ads that shaped the narrative in 2025.

American Eagle and Sydney Sweeney: For better or worse, the “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” ad led the cultural conversation for months and sparked debate across the political spectrum. American Eagle’s pun on “good genes” led some to claim that the company supported eugenics and white supremacy, while others interpreted and praised the spot for its “anti-woke” message.

The company added nearly 800,000 new customers tied to the campaign and a separate Travis Kelce collaboration, while the Sydney Sweeney spot generated a combined 40 billion impressions. The campaign proved critical in helping American Eagle bounce back from a difficult Q1.

The takeaway: Even with some negative press from the ad, American Eagle proved that controversy can sell. The takeaway for advertisers is that controversy can reignite attention, but should be used strategically and reserved for moments where brand visibility requires a reset. Contingency plans will be critical in pivoting campaigns should backlash outweigh buzz.

Gap and Katseye: In what some interpreted as a direct challenge to American Eagle and Sydney Sweeney, Gap saw success with its viral “Better in Denim” campaign with girl group Katseye. Set to the 2003 Kelis song “Milkshake,” the Gap ad had nearly 5 million likes on Instagram and 53 million views on YouTube as of early December.

The campaign was widely praised for celebrating diversity and inclusivity and became Gap’s most viral ad in history by appealing to younger audiences, positioning Gap as an accessible label, and aligning with the cultural moment.

The takeaway: Authentic diversity can drive the cultural conversation just as much as polarizing creative. When diversity feels natural to a brand’s core identity, brands can spark trust and loyalty with consumers.

Coca-Cola’s AI holiday: As one of the largest brands worldwide, Coca-Cola made waves when it debuted its second fully AI-generated holiday advertisement in November. The ad stepped away from AI-generated human characters like its 2024 counterpart and instead featured mostly animals, while Coca-Cola believed that AI tech had evolved enough within the year to garner a better response. And while the ad still led to mostly negative responses from audiences, it sparked conversation nonetheless.

The takeaway: The mostly negative response to the ad doesn’t have much impact on Coca-Cola given its size, but smaller brands remain at a high risk of receiving backlash from creating ads entirely with AI. Continuing to use AI sparingly without eliminating the human touch that makes campaigns connect with audiences will prove valuable for brands that don’t already have a household name status.