How Aéropostale’s “Intern Diaries” Misses the Mark for Season 2

In an age where authenticity is everything, Aéropostale seems to have forgotten that low production value can actually be a positive thing.

Last year, Aéropostale found success with a social media series starring creator Demetra Dias, called the Intern Diaries. This series blurred the lines between branded content and “day in my life” vlogs. The concept felt native to TikTok because it mirrored the content audiences already consumed, especially surrounding intern season every summer. It was influencer marketing that felt grounded in the creator’s personality and the brand’s ethos.

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This year, for season two, Aéropostale brought back the series but with a bit of a different approach. This year’s series follows Gen Alpha sensation Déjà Clark (6.2 million TikTok followers) as Aéropostale’s NYC Intern. For this year’s campaign, Aéropostale partnered with Authentic Studios and Emmy-winning director Eve Van Dyke to transform the videos from DIY to professionally produced and mockumentary-style.

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While the campaign has generated impressive engagement (3.5 million views), I believe season 2 of the Intern Diaries misses the mark because its polished production sacrifices the authenticity that made the original series so charming.

Season 2 Loses the Organic Touch of Season 1.

Aéropostale’s core audience of digital native young people (Gen Alpha, Gen Z, and millennials) are drawn to content that appears spontaneous, personal, and relatable. Season one succeeded because it looked like viewers were following an actual intern through her day. The casual filming style made it easy to forget I was watching branded content.

The personal style of season one was intentionally altered this year. This year, the series has been framed as a comedy with scripted storylines and professional directing. This does not feel real. I don’t lose myself in the intern experience.

I will note that I am not the key audience for this campaign, as this year’s “intern,” Déjà Clark, is only 15. The Marketing Dive article on this campaign also makes it clear that this is for Gen Alphas. That said, I still think that I am close enough to the intended audience to feel something from this campaign. Demetra Dias is also young (19), but her videos moved me more and made me more interested in what Aéropostale was doing, because of how it was presented to me.

Season 2 Does Not Let the Déjà’s Personality Shine.

Déjà Clark has built an audience around herself — her personality, interests, and lived experience. Her followers tune in because they enjoy her, not because they expect acting prowess or even a professional demeanor. Putting Déjà in this highly scripted setting stamps out her natural personality, which is central to why she has a following to begin with. I would have preferred to see something centered around her, despite not following or knowing anything about her, rather than this series that felt like it could be the same with any young influencer out there. With Demetra’s content, I at least felt like I knew a bit about her.

Influencer marketing is most effective when creators maintain their own voice. According to Sprout Social, consumers are more likely to trust creators who produce content that feels genuine. Without authenticity, credibility ends up disappearing, which can make influencer marketing strategies fall apart. Even influencers have spoken out about this issue, with popular TikToker Ken Eurich expressing her frustrations with polished brand content in a recent video.

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Season 2 Does Not Feel Organic To Aéropostale.

From what I can tell, Aéropostale’s recent success has come from embracing creator culture and meeting young consumers where they are. This year, after last year’s success, it feels like the brand increased production value, assuming it would instantly drive success, without considering what that would take away from the content. This year’s series is much more distant than last year’s, not feeling connected to Aéropostale or the creator. Just as any influencer could do this role, it feels like any clothing brand could make this series.

I also could not help but think of InStyle Magazine’s series of a similar name when I saw this year’s rendition of Aéropostale’s Intern Diaries. InStyle’s series garnered massive success on TikTok through its mockumentary approach. I can’t help but wonder if Aéropostale saw this success and transformed its series accordingly. The difference is, their series felt true to the nature of working in a fashion magazine, unlike the relatable culture Aéropostale seems to be trying to curate.

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Overall…

I think Aéropostale will find success with this push, but perhaps not to the same extent as last year. Aéropostale has proven in the past how important creator collaboration is, and continues to grow YoY.

For me, however, I still believe Intern Diaries Season 2 misunderstood what audiences connected with in the first place. The original Intern Diaries succeeded because it didn’t feel like a campaign. This year’s increased production value lost the series some of the authenticity that made the concept stand out.

Sometimes, the content that feels the most real is exactly what audiences are looking for. I hope Aéropostale can see that going forward.