July 2025 Trends: AI in the C-Suite, Gen Z Career Catfishing, & “Great Genes” Ad Fallout
American Eagle campaign faces backlash over “good genes”
American Eagle’s new “Great Jeans” ads cast actress Sydney Sweeney to tell viewers, “Genes are passed down…my jeans are blue.” The ads land during a rise in “anti-woke” marketing designed to resonate with conservative shoppers. By spotlighting a blonde-haired, blue-eyed actress and echoing Donald Trump’s 2020 praise for Minnesotans’ “good genes,” the spot has sparked controversy, with many calling the ad a dog whistle for eugenics. Analysts report that this is AEO’s most expensive campaign to date, with a rollout across 3-D billboards, TikTok and in-store screens spiking social mentions.
What This Means:
It’s important to note the context in which this ad was launched, when the current political moment includes President Donald Trump’s tendency to obsess over “good genetics” and use dehumanizing rhetoric targeting immigrants as having “bad genes.” Consumers will notice when mainstream brands try to normalize coded language for exclusionary, pro-white ideals—whether they do so intentionally or not. We’re in a moment when extra care and judgment needs to be taken in strategic planning.
Gen Z’s ‘Career Catfishing’
A new trend called “career catfishing” is reshaping early-career hiring: over one-third of Gen Z workers are accepting jobs and then never showing up for their first day. Driven by frustration with lengthy hiring processes, as well as mismatched job expectations, Gen Z is using this as a response to what they perceive as unsatisfactory work environments or unfulfilling roles. This behavioral shift, alongside related phenomena like “revenge quitting,” has become a signal of a deepening rift between employers and the youngest generation of workers.
What This Means:
The rise of “career catfishing” exposes a fundamental breakdown in trust and transparency throughout the recruitment process. For leaders, this signals a need for more authentic employer branding, more transparent communication, realistic job descriptions—and to stop signaling your company has a terrible work environment (see below). Employers who fail to understand and authentically engage Gen Z before the hiring process risk increased hiring costs in both time and resources with a demographic that will make up 30% of the workforce by 2030.
Employers Counter With “Brutal Honesty” Job Ads
Some companies are posting deliberate tough-love job descriptions that warn of 60 to 80 hour weeks, limited work-life balance, and unrelenting pace. Firms like Rilla and Shopify are urging applicants to “ghost us” if they can’t handle the grind, signaling that “companies are in control again.” One recruiter notes, “They’re testing the limits of what they can ask of their employees, knowing how hungry people are to work.”
What This Means:
With employers using radical candor to filter new hires and curb turnover, it’s no wonder Gen Z candidates are catfishing to reclaim leverage in the recruiting process. The clash points to a widening trust gap: mismatched expectations now surface earlier, often before day one. Hiring teams who communicate with transparency—while balancing the need for sustainable workloads with a call for talent excellence—will attract talent without fueling disengagement in both the hiring process and in the workplace.
AI Agents Reshape Leadership Teams and Workforces
The arrival of AI is changing the highest levels of corporate leadership, and even CEOs are not immune from being replaced. th. This scenario is moving science fiction to reality, as digital “employees” and AI executives transform work and decision-making. Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, anticipates that the next generation of workforces will blend humans and bots, as AI agents already handle up to 50% of tasks at Salesforce.
What This Means:
The prospect of AI in leadership positions signals a radical shift in org structures, moving away from charisma and gut instinct toward data-driven oversight – but also exposing organizations to trust issues as “robots” take the place of relatable human faces. For leaders, this trend means rethinking organizational design to emphasize human roles in culture and strategy and implementing ethics guardrails. Navigating this shift will require building organizations prepared for continuous transformation and the complexities of human-AI dynamics.
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