Katie Couric is following in Sydney Sweeney’s footsteps — for a great cause.
This summer, Sweeney’s jeans ad stirred up controversy.
Critics felt that it was too close to a eugenics dogwhistle for comfort, especially in today’s political environment.
Now, the legendary journalist is recreating the ad. But it’s a little different. You’ll see.
Is Katie Couric the new Sydney Sweeney?
Katie Couric stars, not in a commercial advertisement like Sydney Sweeney for American Eagle, but in a PSA.
This public service announcement is about colon cancer and the importance of a colonoscopy.
These screenings can save lives.
And the American Eagle ad highlighted a way to grab people’s attention for a great cause.
As you can see for yourself, the PSA begins with a close-up of Couric.
She is wearing a denim jacket. The music is suggestive, perhaps even sensual.
However, as the camera pulls back, we see that she is wearing a hospital gown.
A team of medical professionals are preparing to give her a colonoscopy.
‘It was a moment in time’
Katie Couric spoke to People about how Sydney Sweeney and the American Eagle ad served as an inspiration.
“That ad showed how pop culture and a pair of jeans could really shape the cultural conversation … it was everywhere,” she reasoned.
“It was a moment in time,” Couric characterized.
“And we thought, ‘Why don’t we ride that horse a little bit longer and have some fun with it?'”
“It was funny for me because I’m a little older than Sydney Sweeney,” the 68-year-old national treasure acknowledged.
“And,” she continued, “I was trying to get the jean jacket to lay just so.”
In addition to the visual nod, the PSA uses the “good jeans” pun to segue into discussing colon cancer.
‘Katie Couric gets regular screenings’
“Speaking of genes,” Katie Couric says during the ad, as if continuing a conversation that Sydney Sweeney began.
”Did you know that the majority of people who develop colon cancer are not genetically predisposed to the disease?” she poses.
Couric brings it home:
“That’s why doctors recommend everyone 45 and older get checked.” Please do!