Explained: Why is Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle fashion ad being called ‘tone-deaf' and ‘Nazi'?
Another case of Godwin's law – which states that any online discussion that goes on for long enough will increase the probability of a comparison involving Nazis? Or is this ad so poorly fashioned that critics have a point?
Let's start - as logic dictates - at the beginning.
The popular American actress appears in a campaign for American Eagle, designed to celebrate American style.
In it, the 27-year-old sports a pair of jeans, flaunts her curves and tells viewers: "I'm not here to tell you to buy American Eagle jeans... And I definitely won't say they're the most comfortable jeans I've ever worn, or that they make your butt look amazing."
Then, the slogan "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans" pops up on the screen.
Fair enough, as they do look comfy.
However, the actress then says: 'See what I did there, right?' - highlighting the 'jeans' / 'genes' double entendre.
This was taken a step further in a follow-up video posted to American Eagle's Instagram, which shows Sweeney approaching a billboard with the phrase 'great genes' and striking out the word 'genes' and replacing it with 'jeans.'
In another spot, Sweeney says: "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality, and even eye colour... My jeans are blue.' This is followed by a voiceover that states: "Sydney Sweeney has great Jeans."
Clever wordplay for some; significantly more problematic for others.
Indeed, critics have accused the ad of peddling 'Nazi' propaganda, pointing out that the play on words with 'great genes' has racist connotations and veers towards white supremacist ideals. Many have also highlighted that considering Sweeney is blue-eyed and blonde-haired, it echoes eugenic messaging.
Cue: a heated and viral culture debate between those who think the controversy is overblown by the 'woke brigade" and those who believe that this is not only a reminder of the fashion world's long history of celebrating white privilege, but an unintentional mirroring of fascist ideas. Then there are also those who are convinced that the phrasing of the ad was by design, and that American Eagle was looking to kick the hornet's nest when it comes to issues of race and nationalism.
Check out some of the reactions below:
'I didn't know what everyone was freaking out about with that Sydney Sweeney ad but then I realised I should watch it with the sound on and OH MY GOD. Yeah that's some f*cked Aryan eugenics shit.'
'So Sydney (& American Eagle) somehow expect audiences to not interpret this visual as a euphemism for eugenics and white supremacy?'
'Maybe I'm too f*cking woke,' another added. 'But getting a blue eyed, blonde, white women and focusing your campaign around her having perfect genetics feels weird, especially considering the current state of America.'
'I hate the Sydney Sweeney jeans ad, it's like why are we promoting eugenics with the state of this country rn, NO I don't want your genes actually. F*ck you American Eagle.'
To make matters knottier, the campaign also purports to raise awareness of domestic violence with a line designed by Sweeney called The Sydney Jean - with the full purchase price going to the Crisis Text Line, which offers mental health support. Many online have labelled this 'completely tone-deaf.'
As of writing, the actress has not released a statement regarding the backlash. Neither has American Eagle.
How damaging is this to both Sweeney and the company?
It's up for debate. As recently evidenced by Coldplaygate, not all controversy can be hurtful to a brand... However, that was properly handled. In this case, the company's silence has rubbed people up the wrong way and intensified calls for the campaign to be pulled.
Sayantani DasGupta, a professor of Narrative Medicine, has even analysed the ads in a viral TikTok post, showing how the American Eagle campaign is "imbued with eugenic messaging", which has seen the "forced sterilization and decrease of reproduction among undesirable communities" in the American South.
The professor concluded the American Eagle advert is "contributing to and reinforcing this kind of anti-immigrant, anti-people of colour, pro-eugenic, political moment."
So, what do you think?
An innocent mistake? A fascistic campaign? Or a shameless attempt to rile people up to give the brand some publicity?
If it's the latter, the viral spots worked. They propelled the company's stock by a reported 15 per cent, representing an estimated $310 million boost to its market valuation since their release.
It would seem that courting controversy – no matter how crass – does wonders for your stock, financially speaking. However, when it comes to the court of public opinion and reputational risks, it's a more dangerous gamble.
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NEW YORK -- U.S. fashion retailer American Eagle Outfitters wanted to make a splash with its new advertising campaign starring 27-year-old actor Sydney Sweeney. The ad blitz included 'clever, even provocative language' and was 'definitely going to push buttons,' the company's chief marketing officer told trade media outlets. It has. The question now is whether some of the public reaction the fall denim campaign produced is what American Eagle intended. Titled 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,' the campaign sparked a debate about race, Western beauty standards, and the backlash to 'woke' American politics and culture. Most of the negative reception focused on videos that used the word 'genes' instead of 'jeans' when discussing the blonde-haired, blue-eyed actor known for the HBO series 'Euphoria' and 'White Lotus.' Some critics saw the wordplay as a nod, either unintentional or deliberate, to eugenics, a discredited theory that held humanity could be improved through selective breeding for certain traits. Marcus Collins, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, said the criticism for the American Eagle ad could have been avoided if the ads showed models of various races making the 'genes' pun. 'You can either say this was ignorance, or this was laziness, or say that this is intentional,' Collins said. 'Either one of the three aren't good.' Other commenters accused detractors of reading too much into the campaign's message. 'I love how the leftist meltdown over the Sydney Sweeney ad has only resulted in a beautiful white blonde girl with blue eyes getting 1000x the exposure for her 'good genes,'" former Fox News host Megyn Kelly wrote Tuesday on X. American Eagle didn't respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press. The discussion continued after eagle-eyed social media users noticed that Dunkin's promotion for its new summer drink features 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' co-star Gavin Casalengo attributing his suntan to genetics. The ad blitz comes as the teen retailer, like many merchants, wrestles with sluggish consumer spending and higher costs from tariffs. American Eagle reported that total sales were down 5% for its February-April quarter compared to a year earlier. A day after Sweeney was announced as the company's latest celebrity collaborator, American Eagle's stock closed more than 4% up. Shares were volatile this week and trading nearly 2% down Wednesday. Like many trendy clothing brands, American Eagle has to differentiate itself from other mid-priced chains with a famous face or by saying something edgy, according to Alan Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce. Adamson said the Sweeney campaign shares a lineage with Calvin Klein jeans ads from 1980 that featured a 15-year-old Brooke Shields saying, 'You want to know what comes in between me and my Calvins? Nothing.' Some TV networks declined to air the spots because of its suggestive double entendre and Shields' age. 'It's the same playbook: a very hot model saying provocative things shot in an interesting way,' Adamson said. Chief Marketing Officer Craig Brommers told industry news website Retail Brew last week that 'Sydney is the biggest get in the history of American Eagle,' and the company would promote the partnership in a way that matched. The campaign features videos of Sweeney wearing slouchy jeans in various settings. She will appear on 3-D billboards in Times Square and elsewhere, speaking to users on Snapchat and Instagram, and in an AI-enabled try-on feature. American Eagle also plans to launch a limited edition Sydney jean to raise awareness of domestic violence, with sales proceeds going to a nonprofit crisis counseling service. In a news release, the company noted '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.' In one video, Sweeney walks toward an American Eagle billboard of her and the tagline 'Sydney Sweeney has great genes.' She crosses out 'genes' and replaces it with 'jeans.' But what critics found the most troubling was a teaser video in which Sweeney says, 'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue.' The video appeared on American Eagle's Facebook page and other social media channels but is not part of the ad campaign. While remarking that someone has good genes is sometimes used as a compliment, the phrase also has sinister connotations. Eugenics gained popularity in early 20th century America, and Nazi Germany embraced it to carry out Adolf Hitler's plan for an Aryan master race. Civil rights activists have noted signs of eugenics regaining a foothold through the far right's promotion of the 'great replacement theory,' a racist ideology that alleges a conspiracy to diminish the influence of white people. Shalini Shankar, a cultural and linguistic anthropologist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, said she had problems with American Eagle's 'genes' versus 'jeans' because it exacerbates a limited concept of beauty. 'American Eagle, I guess, wants to rebrand itself for a particular kind of white privileged American,' Shankar said. As for Dunkin's social media video, Casalengo's burnished skin comes up in the context of the doughnut chain's Golden Hour Refresher drink. 'This tan? Genetics. I just got my color analysis back and guess what? Golden summer," the actor says, referring to the revived trend of wearing clothing that align with one's natural coloring. A Dunkin' spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment. Many critics compared the American Eagle ad to a misstep by Pepsi in 2017, when it released a TV ad that showed model Kendall Jenner offer a can of soda to a police officer while ostensibly stepping away from a photo shoot to join a crowd of protesters. Viewers mocked the spot for appearing to trivialize protests of police killings of Black people. Pepsi apologized and pulled the ad. The demonstrations that followed the 2020 killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis pushed many U.S. companies to make their advertising better reflect consumers of all races. Some marketers say they've observed another shift since President Donald Trump returned to office and moved to abolish all federal DEI programs and policies. Jazmin Burrell, founder of brand consulting agency Lizzie Della Creative Strategies, said she's noticed while shopping with her cousin more ads and signs that prominently feature white models. 'I can see us going back to a world where diversity is not really the standard expectation in advertising,' Burrell said. American Eagle has been praised for diverse marketing in the past, including creating a denim hijab in 2017 and offering its Aerie lingerie brand in a wide range of sizes. A year ago, the company released a limited edition denim collection with tennis star Coco Gauff. Marketing experts offer mixed opinions on whether the attention surrounding 'good jeans' will be good for business. 'They were probably thinking that this is going to be their moment," Myles Worthington, the founder and CEO of marketing and creative agency WORTHI. 'But this is doing the opposite and deeply distorting their brand.' Other experts say the buzz is good even if it's not uniformly positive.
