Sydney Sweeney's advertisement for American Eagle's jeans is generating debate due to its content.
The Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad controversy has sparked intense debate, with critics accusing the campaign of using a double entendre that evokes eugenics messaging and racist dog whistles. The ad, which features the actress promoting the brand's new jeans collection, has been compared to "Operation BEIGE," a term that stands for Boring and Engineered to Identify with Gentrification and Eugenics.
The controversy centers around the phrase "great jeans," a pun on "great genes," which some argue unintentionally triggers historical connotations of race and heredity used in eugenics propaganda. In one ad, Sweeney says, "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring... my jeans are blue." Another advert shows Sweeney painting over the words "great genes" to change them to "great jeans."
The political implications of this backlash reflect wider cultural tensions around advertising, race, and social sensitivity. Some commentators label the reaction as part of "over-wokeness," while others emphasize the necessity of awareness about historical and racial contexts in marketing.
The ad's creators, however, have defended the campaign, with one stating that they used a double entendre that "they knew was going to fire up half of the nation and give them endless publicity." TikToker @saltlacroix compared the strategy to a bid to "Make Eugenics Sexy Again," while @campcallout described it as "eugenics rage bait."
Sayantani DasGupta, an author and professor of Narrative Medicine, has criticized the campaign for its "eugenic messaging." Historically, bathwater soap, a product used in one of Sweeney's recent ventures, has been a racialized product, with whiteness being associated with cleanliness.
The controversy has had significant financial implications for American Eagle. Despite initially predicting a second quarter loss of over $60 million, the brand's stock shot up overnight by $310 million due to the controversy surrounding their campaign. However, the reselling of Sweeney's used bathwater soap on eBay, with prices reaching hundreds of dollars, suggests that the controversy may have also boosted sales for some products.
In conclusion, the Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad controversy involves accusations that the pun "great jeans"/"great genes" serves as a tone-deaf, possibly racist dog whistle referencing eugenics. This has led to significant public and social media backlash, highlighting risks for brands in navigating historical sensitivities and political implications in advertising.
Celebrities, such as Sydney Sweeney, have found themselves at the center of pop-culture debates over unintended racist connotations in their advertising campaigns, with the latest controversy surrounding the American Eagle ad featuring her promoting jeans. This controversy, entwined with eugenics messaging and racial dog whistles, has sparked intense public discussion and criticism from commentators and scholars alike.
