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Aerie is betting its brand on staying human in the age of AI.The intimates and activewear brand has taken a firm stance against using artificial intelligence in its marketing, while some other marketers have embraced it.
Aerie chief marketing officer Stacey McCormick told Business Insider that its emphasis on real people, moments, and places is a pillar the brand intends to uphold.It tapped actor Pamela Anderson for its latest campaign, which aims to drive home Aerie's "100% Aerie Real" commitment. A video ad released Wednesday features Anderson attempting and failing to feed prompts to an AI generator to create realistic models.The scene shifts to show Anderson sharing the set and laughing with three human models. The point, McCormick said, is to show that you can't prompt realness from AI, which is why Aerie uses humans without AI retouching."Taking the stance is important to build trust and credibility, and make sure that our consumer that shops us and has been loyal to us knows that," McCormick said.With Aerie, McCormick said, what you see is what you get, underscoring the brand's emphasis on transparency and authenticity. That's part of the reason it chose to partner with Anderson, who has made the makeup-free look a part of her persona on red carpets and public events.The 58-year-old is making a career comeback on the heels of her Netflix documentary "Pamela, a Love Story," acting roles in recent films such as "The Last Showgirl," and her presence at fashion week events.Aerie hopes its target audience of 24 to 35-year-olds — and younger — will be able to relate to Anderson."We think it's important for the newer generation, who don't know us, to know that we won't generate bodies," McCormick said.Aerie has made other commitments to transparency. In 2014, the company said it would stop retouching people and bodies in its campaigns.Last October, it expanded on that by promising: "No AI-generated bodies or people." That anti-AI pledge became the brand's most-liked Instagram post in a year.It capped off a strong year for the lingerie brand. Parent company American Eagle Outfitters said Aerie's comparable sales increased 9% in its 2025 fiscal year.Aerie isn't the only brand to push back against AI in advertising. Beauty brand Dove has pledged never to use AI to "create or distort women's bodies."McCormick said that while Aerie is completely opposed to using AI on people in its advertising, it's exploring ways to use the technology as a tool for supply chain management, content scaling, and planning. As the AI revolution continues, more companies are using it to automate processes and reduce costs — and those that don't could be left behind.There's one place Aerie guarantees you won't see AI: on its models."At the end of the day, while AI can mimic an image, it can never capture the soul, warmth, or energy of a human being," Jennifer Foyle, president and executive creative director for American Eagle and Aerie, told Business Insider.
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