GREAT... SCREENS

Katie Couric Parodies Sydney Sweeney’s Jeans Advert for PSA

The former Today anchor has a version everyone can get behind.

Katie Couric has channeled Sydney Sweeney’s infamous “Great Jeans” ad to raise awareness on colon cancer in a new PSA. The video showed Couric, 68, wearing a denim jacket while posing on her side like Sweeney. “Speaking of genes, did you know that the majority of people who develop colon cancer are not genetically predisposed to the disease?” Couric said, referencing the American Eagle ad. “That’s why doctors recommend everyone 45 and older get checked. Mine are televised.” Couric, a cancer survivor, told People her dedication to cancer screenings “has been near and dear to my heart,” ever since her first husband, Jay Monahan, died at 42 in 1998 from colon cancer. “That ad showed how pop culture and a pair of jeans could really shape the cultural conversation,” Couric said. “It was a moment in time, and we thought, ‘Why don’t we ride that horse a little bit longer and have some fun with it?’” Colorectal Cancer Alliance and Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort are behind the PSA as part of the Lead from Behind campaign. Couric has long been a vocal supporter of early screenings; in 2000, she had a colonoscopy live on air while anchoring NBC’s Today and took Jimmy Kimmel to get a colonoscopy in 2018.