2025 proved that no issue stays private for long. PR fails such as legal disputes and high-risk rebrands turned corporate strategy into public theater.
These spectacles have highlighted more than simply the importance of a strong crisis communication team. They have reflected the consequence of failing to understand how consumers may view certain messages, how harmful public scandals can be to someone’s personal brand and emphasized that respecting the wants of the consumers who supported these brands is essential for success.
Sydney Sweeney’s Good Genes
June 2025 saw what was perhaps the most criticized ad of the year. American Eagle Outfitters released a campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney that many consumers believed to have unsettling undertones.
The ad featured Sweeney sporting American Eagle jeans stating, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue,” followed by the tagline of “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans”, which sparked backlash for its perceived reference to “genes”.
As Sweeney is a blonde-haired blue-eyed woman, this ad created discourse. NPR stated that “the company’s creative choices have prompted some to say the ad campaign promotes eugenics, a discredited scientific theory popular among white supremacists that humanity could be improved by breeding out less desirable traits.”
In light of this controversy, American Eagle responded that “[the ad] is and always was about the jeans. [Sweeney’s] jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
Despite this claim, American Eagle failed to remain consistent with its brand, as many did not view the ad as reflective of the diversity the company says it strives to uphold.
From this, it becomes clear not only how much weight brand identity carries, but also the importance of being strategic when aligning with a celebrity.
Cracker Barrel’s Rebrand
In August of 2025, Cracker Barrel startled the public when they announced they would be changing their logo in tandem with their efforts to modernize the brand.
The iconic Old Timer man along with the words “Old Country Store” were removed from the logo to simplify it. Usha Haley for Forbes stated, “Cracker Barrel’s rebranding offers a textbook case on how legacy brands can stumble and recover when modernizing their image. The company’s minimalist logo stripped away iconic symbols that had anchored its identity for decade.”
As a result, Cracker Barrel reverted to the original logo within a week.
Despite how it may seem, this is not considered a PR misstep solely due to the unsuccessful rebrand, but instead because of how the change was handled. Cracker Barrel gave no clear reasoning for the change in their narrative, creating a sense of confusion and a newfound distrust from their customers. In addition, the rebrand was announced with no soft launch or tests. By reverting the logo back within such a short period of time, it came across as panicked, rather than thoughtful.
This attempt at a rebrand demonstrated the value of PR in helping the public recognize the importance of understanding audience attachment to a brand, as well as thoughtfully crafting and clearly communicating the narrative behind strategic changes.
Nestlé’s Greenwashing
Nestlé claims to be making strides with sustainability, but questions have been raised as to whether this is a lie to appeal to green-conscious consumers.
In September of 2025, ClientEarth, an environmental law charity, filed a lawsuit against Nestlé Poland, accusing the company of greenwashing in the marketing of its bottled water brand. Nestlé Poland features several slogans on their bottles, such as “I am 100% made of recycled PET plastic.”
According to ClientEarth, “such slogans create a false impression that single-use plastic will not harm the environment,”. ClientEarth has stated that this wording violates consumer protection laws as it misleads buyers into believing the product has environmental benefits.
The case in Poland does not stand alone. Environmental groups and consumers have alleged that Nestlé’s packaging claims of “100% recyclable” or “100% recycled” don’t reflect reality, and the company has left environmental alliances without explanation.
This has resulted in a PR backlash that harms the brand’s reputation, and the trust consumers have in them.
According to Dr. Jay Lim, assistant professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at The University of Alabama, “Greenwashing controversies can create a credibility spillover—once consumers feel misled by a high-profile brand, skepticism often spreads to similar brands and even the broader category.”
When companies, particularly global corporations of Nestlé’s scale, approach public relations strategy, it is important that they do not mislead consumers and prioritize substance over image.
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively’s Legal Warfare
The stars of the hit movie “It Ends With Us” became entangled in a public lawsuit throughout 2025 that included claims of defamation and sexual harassment. The excitement surrounding the film and its powerful message was overshadowed by its stars’ reputational damage.
As a result of a legal battle being brought into the public eye, the feud became subject to the court of public opinion, leading the individuals and their personal brands to suffer immensely.
Lively made claims stating that Baldoni and his team planned to destroy her reputation in the press. BBC stated that her team claimed, “To safeguard against the risk of Ms. Lively ever revealing the truth about Mr. Baldoni, the Baldoni-Wayfarer team created, planted, amplified, and boosted content designed to eviscerate Ms. Lively’s credibility.”
From a PR standpoint, this damaged not only the reputations of the celebrities but also overshadowed the film’s marketing as the court filings doubled as press releases.
Dr. Courtney Boman, assistant professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at The University of Alabama, noted, “Public legal wars damage celebrity brands by shattering the ‘halo effect,’ forcing the public to choose sides in a narrative of hero versus villain that the stars can no longer control.”
If one is going to frame their reputation as value-based, they must be aware that conflict can create a bigger risk for their reputation.
Although PR scandals damage the image of brands and the reputations of celebrities, they offer one silver lining: important lessons can be taken from them so that crisis teams can be better equipped for the future and implement preventative measures to ensure mistakes are not made twice.
