Last week, American Eagle debuted a new ad campaign starring Sydney Sweeney. The campaign is built around their AE denim collection, and Sydney is wearing jeans and some denim jackets in all of the print ads and commercials. My first thought was… wow, Sydney is really saying “yes” to everything. She’s not a nepo baby and she worked for years to get to this point, where people are throwing money at her to appear in their ad campaigns. She’s also a brand ambassador for Miu Miu, and I wondered if there was any drama with her ambassadorship contracts given this new American Eagle campaign. As it turns out, all of that is background noise, because these American Eagle commercials are making headlines for all the wrong reasons. The tagline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” is awful.
Sydney Sweeney is redefining denim 🔥
From “Euphoria” to American Eagle’s “Great Jeans” campaign she's rocking it. pic.twitter.com/jGVZHcd4U2
— Homo erectus (@Erectusvibes) July 24, 2025
Yeah… I don’t mind the one where the camera lingers on her chest – it’s cheesy, but hey, “having big boobs” is pretty much her calling card, and she’s the new “hot girl.” But there’s a second one, which is now being scrubbed from the internet, and for good reason. The second one is very… Aryan race. Sydney is describing her “good genes” – blonde hair, blue eyes, etc. The writers for these commercials are not very good at their jobs.
Going back to my question about her Miu Miu contract and whether there’s any drama with AE… I have no idea, but all of the proceeds from AE’s “The Sydney Jean” are going to an anti-domestic violence charity, Crisis Text Line. So… the proceeds from the sales of that one specific style of jeans will go to charity, but I doubt Sweeney is modeling the American Eagle line for free.
Photos courtesy of American Eagle’s Instagram.
Sidney has always given me the ick. She is also an extreme Maggot, going to that awful wedding. I don’t watch anything that she stars in.
Like It or not, Prime is a major content creator and Sydney Sweeney can’t afford to snub the studio head. I think a lot of actors felt the invitation was more of a summons.
Yeah American Eagle knew what they were doing with this ad. Clearly they’re going for the fascist and incel crowd.
Not a fan. Don’t like the ad for the jeans.
” The writers for these commercials are not very good at their jobs.”
With the current rise of Nazis, I doubt they didn’t know what they wrote means, which would be approved by multiple people until it comes to Sydney’s agents. The companies want to pander to the new rise of alt-right without very explicitly saying so, so they can get away with it.
Yeeeaaahh this went through a lot of people, including Sydney herself who is well aware of her own MAGAness, before it hit the air. They knew exactly what they were doing.
Let’s not play this game. They knew exactly what they were doing with this ad. This is eugenics. A blond white woman saying she has good jeans (genes) should alarm you. Growing up as a BW I saw this BS all the time. If you don’t see that then congrats, you have fallen for the propaganda.
Yep, if their aim is to continue normalising fascism then they are indeed good at their jobs.
I guess they thought they would be covered by plausible deniability and edginess. Wink wink. As all of you have said: a LOT of people had to sign off on this. AE is just one more company that won’t be getting any more money from me. My personal boycott list is, sadly, getting longer.
I never cared much for American Eagle but I did like Aerie their sister brand. I had just got a text from them because my birthday is coming up about a reward, and I was considering using it. Thanks to this nonsense I definitely won’t because they absolutely know what they’re doing.
Agree with everything you just wrote! You are spot on Sevenblue.
I guess these people don’t see what they say about her on Reddit🤭I won’t repeat what they say about, but her name always comes up when ask Reddit post about what actors they don’t find attractive.
There was one comment I saw about her looks on SM and even though I don’t really like her, it was a very(very) mean comment someone posted. Sometimes I can’t unsee it myself either, and makes me feel bad that I can’t unsee it.
I have to admit, I thought it was just a silly pun at first glance?
I would say personally that I have the luck of having “good genes” in the sense that I have no inheritable genetic conditions on either side of my family, which is nothing to do with my appearance. Sweeney probably didn’t fully think through the implications of the ad, which is unfortunate. It’s interesting to compare and contrast Sydney Chandler, a nepo baby who says no (and got pilloried) and Sweeney, a non-nepo baby who says yes (and gets pilloried), both for equally fair reasons.
You all need to stop infantilizing this woman. Her family is MAGA. she made excuses for her trash family when they had that MAGA themed birthday party. She has been problematic. Again if you don’t see that this is eugenics and propaganda then you are the problem.
Came here to say this, too. How many more instances of aligning with MAGA and white supremacist ideology do people need before they recognize this woman for what she is? If she was concerned about being misinterpreted, there are a billion things she could do to demonstrate that she’s not 10000% racist, but she’s doing none of them.
So we’re clear, the ad is eugenics propaganda.
It is saying: Blond, blue eyed white people have the good genes, all other people are lesser, and as a society we intend to make that more and more clear, that blond, blue eyed people, white people, christian people, are good people.
Everyone else is lesser.
That is the message of the ad. It is pro nazi.
In 2025, nazis are still the bad guys, even if they are the ones in office, “leading” our country, grifting and stealing our tax dollars, and wiping out progress on equality that was far from perfect, but occasionally did get this evil society pushed forward.
Why couldn’t they have used women of all sizes and shapes and races. We all have good jeans/genes
Why? I’d guess that’s not the point that they want to make.
Imma save my discretionary cash for shops like Benetton and Universal Standard.
Yes. If they wanted to use the cheesy pun or the call back to the CK ad, this would have been the way to go. They still could have featured Sydney since the jeans are a special collab with her, but throw in some other hot people with some diversity and it’s a dumb joke and not a racist dog whistle.
How could anyone esteem her in any way after she went to the Bezos wedding?
Insidious advertising now blatant. That’s a good thing in a horrible way. Now we all see it.
Abusing the Canadian tuxedo this way is shameful. The projection that white, blue eyes is the best gene is disgusting, shameful and I hope this ad is not allowed to run in Canada. It is racist. No question in my mind.
Yeah I saw the one ad where the wording was like …”good genes and a how these traits are passed down generations”… #hork.
Its giving Germany 1933, no doubt and I hate everyone involved in this SH*T!!
Yeah, at first, I didn’t see the exact ad, the weird ad says: “Jeans are passed down from parents to offspring. Often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue”. Then, the slogan about her having great jeans appears. They knew what they were doing.
To me, it’s the “passing down through generations” part that’s the problem. Otherwise it’s a play on “jeans” and maybe a brag that her boobs are not enhanced.
I can’t imagine what they were thinking. Just because Trump did away with DEI doesn’t mean that audiences and customers will revert to the past. Attitudes have changed.
I think they are trying to pander to the current fascist, racist regime and the very bad people who follow them.
I think they are also trying to recycle that cringe Brooke Shields ad for Calvin Klein jeans from the 80s where she recites the definition of genetics while rolling around on the floor putting on her too tight jeans. There, I described it so you never have to watch it.
I work in Marketing. There is no way that someone in the room didn’t point out how problematic the messaging of “good genes” paired with a white, blue eyed woman would be perceived. Either they knew and controversy was the point, or they knew and we’re reading into it exactly what was intended.
It would have been SO easy to have people with different “genes” portrayed with the message that they all have good jeans. They chose not to.
“Either they knew and controversy was the point, or they knew and we’re reading into it exactly what was intended.”
Or both! Both can be true!
Absolutely Emily! Thank you for calling this by its right name.
I think by “good genes” she basically means having inherited a hot bod and pretty face, no? Sure, she is a white girl, but I don’t think that’s the point? In fact, I think AE should ignore the criticism and build on the visibility of this ad campaign by remaking it with gorgeous hot women of all races and blends. They could do some with men, if they sell men’s jeans, too. They could even use both cis and trans models. Hot is hot.
Congrats on falling for the propaganda. People like yourself will twist themselves in knots to normalize this. Growing up I have been bombarded with the image of the blonde white woman being the standard of beauty. If you don’t see the problem and don’t listen to black and brown people trying to educate people how problematic this is, you are part of the problem.
Someone posted this on Threads: “Many men don’t marry who they actually want they marry the woman other men are conditioned to admire. Not for connection, but for proximity to power, status, & belonging.
That’s not intimacy it’s social currency.
& it’s exactly how patriarchy and white supremacy sustain themselves.
The American Eagle campaign with Sydney Sweeney as a textbook example. She’s not just there as an actress, she’s deployed as a visual cue for desirability, softness, & whiteness. It will harm yt women! “
Why would they give Sweeney a super-expensive contract if they intended to use diverse models? SHE — a blonde white woman — is representing the brand here, and she’s frickin’ talking about her genetics! It’s tone deaf AT BEST, but probably intentional.
It’s too late to “build on the visibility,” because anything they do now will be seen as bad-faith attempts to distract from their blatant racism.
It’s odd that you’re defending this. Think it through.
Absolutely not. It’s amazing you don’t see it. She talks about genes passed down such as hair color and eye color, then says her “jeans are blue”. It could not be more transparent. These are the good “genes”.
The MAGA Crowd is LOVING the commercials, which tells you how awful they are.
The dogwhistles are dogwhistling.
She’s problematic so I am not surprised about this campaign.
This is some Third Reich BS
This exactly!
“Jeans are passed down from parents to offspring. Often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color.”
How can people not feel this is more than problematic??
As a European, “genes” passed down to the “offspring” sounds too familiair, and not in a good way.
It’s really, really scary because it’s (one of our) dark parts of history which is being glamorized – instead of being remembered as a lesson
Why is this a discussion? We know what is happening here. White supremacy and eugenics. You’re either solidly for equality or silent and complicit. This ad isn’t a dog whistle, it and all involved should be condemned.
Yikes. The fascist garbage aren’t even trying to hide the eugenics anymore. Cancel this dumbass magat c#nt and boycott AE. I will not watch anything she is in and will cancel any streaming service that hires the nutjob. This isn’t cute or clever. This is the roadmap to evil.
After this ad, I hope directors end this fascination with her. After all, there’s no shortage of pretty actresses to choose from. The “IT” girl to maybe the “Not it” girl.
At first, I was rooting for her. Then soured on her. Did not like how she inserted herself in Gigi and Glens relationship, even if it was just for promos, it wasnt handled well at all. Don’t like her politics and couldn’t care less of what she’s advertising or movie she’s in. Hopefully she’s a fad that would just go away. There’s many other gen Z talented actresses out there better than her.
This is a terrible ad. It is supposed to be an updated take on a really clever Calvin Klien campaign that Brooke Shields did in the early 1980’s. The conceit is pretty much the same but she explains genetics in even more depth. it played against her image which was at the time was that she was known for her looks and not her intelligence(see Margot Robbie in the bathtub explaining CODs in the Big Short). Of course, one of the major problems with that ad is that hot women can be smart and Brooke wasn’t really a woman at all when she shot the ad(she was 15).
However, updating that ad now is this climate is terrible. Also, playing up the intelligence angle doesn’t really seem to ‘fit’ Sweeney, Someone clearly wanted to reference that campaign but without any consideration to the concept in this context.
I’ve spent a fair amount of money at AE over the years on clothes for my daughters and nieces. Not one cent more.
Eh. Not appreciably different from the Brooke Shields/Calvin Klein jeans ads, ‘nothing comes between me & my Calvins, nothing at all’. 🙄. Advertising is sexist, always has been, always will be. The ‘great jeans/genes’ equating with blonde hair, blue eyes is more problematic.
Campaigns like this don’t happen in a void. AE long-time photographer Jess Wasson shot it. AE’s in-house team styled it. Wasson credits the whole AE creative team on her Insta. Acre Creative was the agency that worked on the campaign.
Obviously people who work on photo shoots don’t always know how those photos will be paired with words.
But I work in e-commerce fashion… and THEY USUALLY DO.
This narrative came from a large team of people who thought this was a message that would drive sales.
I gotta admit I thought Euphoria would be her 15 minutes. There isn’t much there to recommend her for future work besides the obvious. And now she’s every where. I don’t hate her hustle but this ad campaign is the loudest dog whistle.
As an aside, I recently went back to wearing Levis and I gotta recommend sticking with the classics.