Who Knew Charli XCX Would Be the Death of “Every Kiss Begins With Kay”?

Perhaps in what is yet another major sign of Charli XCX going truly corporate (in addition to a collaboration with Madonna), of all the ad campaigns to associate with, she’s sanctioned the use of her 2024 song, “Everything is romantic,” in what marks the first time since 1999 (incidentally, also the name of another XCX song) that Kay Jewelers has broken with their traditional slogan of “Every kiss begins with Kay.”

The tagline, written by Randall Herrera (who worked at Ohio ad agency Stern Advertising when he came up with it) in 1997, would eventually “become one of the most recognized slogans in advertising history.” This per the Signet Jewelers website, as they’re the parent company of Kay. A name that itself somewhat misleads with its “inoffensive” gentile sound, for it was actually a shop opened by brothers Sol and Edmund Kaufmann in Reading, Pennsylvania. Kaufmann, evidently, gave way to “Kay.” After all, “good business” in America has always meant knowing better than to scare off the goyim with an “ethnic”-sounding name.

Instead, the goal—both in general and for Kay in particular—has always been to lure them with dulcet tones and the promise of romance (whether new or reaffirmed). In Kay Jewelers’ scenario, that lure was with the ultimate in cheesy jingles. And yes, for those “of a certain age,” the only thing more annoying (or what the kids would have then freely called “hella gay”) than that “Every kiss begins with Kay” slogan was also how, in its way, it was quite comforting (retroactively all the more so, because it meant you hadn’t gotten too far away from the beginning of the twenty-first century). But now, it seems that the company has decided to obliterate the maudlin “adage” (usually sung by a woman with a voice that sounds as if it had been converted by a cult leader…presumably named Kay).

To be sure, there are probably many “experts” who would argue that Kay Jewelers should have done so long ago if they wanted to appeal to a new generation of people possibly getting married and/or “celebrating” their love. Not always necessarily with a ring, since the retailer sells plenty of different kinds of jewelry that might commemorate some other occasion, whether related to “love” or not. But since “love” and “marriage” “go together like a horse and carriage”—even now—Kay still continues to use the concept in their advertising as their bread and butter. And, at present, to help them sell that concept in a more “avant-garde” package, they have Charli XCX. In spite of the fact that, to some, Charli was once considered too “fringe” to be implemented into the framework of the “traditional trajectory” narrative that Kay Jewelers wields in their commercials.

Even this latest one designed to “blow up” their past efforts with something “fresher” and more “resonant” to modern audiences (though not to the point where you’re going to see a polyamorous display, or even a throuple). Most especially the presentation of a same-sex couple in the commercial, which uses the Caroline Polachek-featuring edition of “Everything is romantic” (from XCX’s remix version of Brat, Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat). An iteration that relies heavily on Polachek’s repetition of the phrase, “Fall in love again and again” (to boot, the lyric, “Church bells in the distance” is brought to the forefront and presently has no relation to the Italian church Charli was originally romanticizing). Now repurporsed and bastardized here as a means to tell people that, in order to prove that their love has endured over the years, they should still buy jewelry for their significant other to indicate that their love has been reinvigorated long after they already bought a damn ring for the engagement. And that, of course, is the crux of how capitalism works: always convince the consumer they “need” another product even though they already have one that serves an original purpose.

In addition to homing in on this song for its urging to “fall in love again and again” (a.k.a. buy again and again), the title itself, “Everything is romantic,” also applies to what Kay wants people to believe about where, when and how they can propose. That is to say, if “everything is romantic,” that means that “everywhere” can be too. Hence, a scene of a woman being proposed to at the grocery store (oh, how this song’s use has been degraded since its last prominent usage: in the Wuthering Heights trailer).

Elsewhere in the commercial, Kay shoehorning in a lesbian couple at a sporting event (though the “kind” of event isn’t shown, one assumes a basketball game) caught on the “kiss cam” is something that’s supposed to be “bold” for the brand in 2026, even though it’s the kind of “representation” that feels a bit stale at this point. Especially when it’s as affrontingly stereotypical as presenting lesbians as sports spectators.

It’s also pointed, of course, that Kay Jewelers is at last showcasing some people in love who aren’t white (including—gasp!—an interracial couple…who is also the abovementioned “grocery store couple”), which hasn’t historically been the case with many of their commercials. What’s more, as if to further heighten the “relatability” cachet they’re trying to up with this “overhaul,” the brand favors the use of scenes that show people in various awkward moments or “fails” when it comes to successfully “executing” romance and the gestures thereof. Even more “shocking” still, a woman being the one to approach a man, as shown in the final scene when the new, not-so-iconic (or certainly not as iconic) tagline, “Love All In” comes up on the screen (this before the prior urging to “fall hard”).

But it’s obvious that what Kay itself is truly “all in” on here isn’t “love” (naturally, what they’ve always been “all in” on is making money off of love), but obliterating what they now seem to view as their antiquated image. Something that was too cornball for “the kids of today” to relate to. And who do those “kids” relate to the most in the eyes of the marketing and advertising executives pulling the strings? Ms. Brat-turned-Music, Fashion, Film herself, Charli. And even she, for all her “edge” over the years, didn’t sidestep the time-honored tradition of marrying her boyfriend, George Daniel.

Regardless, perhaps even the most jaded of fans couldn’t have seen this commercial collaboration coming. And while, sure, it’s “just her song,” not her actually in the commercial, XCX’s “invisible” participation is just as weighty and significant in terms of rendering her into someone increasingly less, let’s say, “Lou Reed-esque.” Not only that, but just as weighty and significant as her being the one to help kill off “Every kiss begins with Kay.” And while some might thank her for that, others might as easily decry her lack of respect for what was among the last of the “sacred” advertising slogans.