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A new denim campaign from American Eagle starring the actress Sydney Sweeney blew up on social media with many outraged at its sexualization and racial undertones although a few are calling the negative reaction a “woke” exaggeration.
The campaign sees Sweeney, who rose to fame for her starring roles in HBO’s “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus,” modeling a number of denim outfits with the tagline, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”
The most criticized ad shows the actor reclining on a couch as she squirms while fastening her pants and murmuring, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue.” The camera pans both across her blue denim jeans and her blue eyes as a male narrator concludes, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”
The execution reminded some of Calvin Klein’s controversial “Nothing gets between me and my Calvins” campaign from the early eighties that featured Brooke Shields although Shields was only 15 at the time and Brooke Shields is 27. Nonetheless, similar to past backlash aimed at Victoria’s Secret, the overall focus on the male gaze across the campaign was seen by many on social media as regressive and degrading to women.
“How far back do you plan on going? Do you still wanna vote?" one commenter asked while another chided: "You accept these jobs that objectify your body. Fight the patriarchy, don't join it."
The angrier complaints on social media were that the campaign promoted eugenics with executions playing on a pun between “great genes” and “great jeans.” Some have outright called the ads “Nazi propaganda” and an example of “White supremacy.”
CK Smith, weekend reporter for Salon, wrote that “great genes” is a “phrase historically used to celebrate whiteness, thinness and attractiveness. This makes this campaign seem to be a tone-deaf marketing move. And it’s not like they were being subtle about it. One campaign advertisement literally has Sweeney ‘painting’ over the words ‘great genes’ to become ‘great jeans.’”
“Maybe I'm to woke. But getting a blue-eyed, blonde, white woman and focusing your campaign around her having perfect genetics feels weird,” one wrote on X.
American Eagle hasn’t responded to the backlash but noted that the ads were meant to show some humor. Sweeney has been known to lampoon her status as a sex symbol, including in roles on a recent appearance on Saturday Night Live and recently collaborating on limited edition collection of soap infused with her bath water.
American Eagle said, “Sweeney’s girl next door charm and main character energy – paired with her ability to not take herself too seriously – is the hallmark of this bold, playful campaign.”
Proceeds from "The Sydney Jean," a limited-edition style, will also be supporting domestic violence awareness, which Sweeney is passionate about.
The discourse drew a retaliatory backlash from others online who say the criticisms are an exaggeration. One respondent wrote on X, “The claim that Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad is pro-eugenics because of a ‘good genes/jeans’ pun is genuinely unhinged. It’s a denim campaign, not a manifesto. Not every blonde with blue eyes is a Nazi. Some of you need a history book — and a nap.”
Conservatives charged the attacks on Sweeney are rooted in jealously and anger that companies are no longer embracing overly "woke" and inclusive advertisement. Columnist Ingrid Jacques wrote for USA Today, "It’s a ridiculous overreaction to an advertisement featuring a successful, attractive celebrity.”