An enormous American model companions with a younger, stunning celeb in what it thinks is a intelligent and iconic piece of promoting. However as quickly because the advert drops, the response is precisely the alternative of what the model hoped for. There’s a direct backlash towards how the advert has casually, and ignorantly, waded into points like id politics, societal divisions, and systemic racism.
Sound acquainted? In fact, it sounds a helluva lot just like the swamp of sizzling takes American Eagle and Sydney Sweeney presently discover themselves wandering waist-deep in. However I used to be truly speaking concerning the notorious Pepsi and Kendall Jenner advert from 2017. A lot has modified since then, however oh, how any given model’s lack of cultural consciousness can stay fixed.
Sydney Sweeney x American Eagle, oh my god. pic.twitter.com/tDkeGT9R7G
— Sydney Sweeney Every day (@sweeneydailyx) July 24, 2025
Final week, American Eagle dropped a brand new marketing campaign of advertisements that includes Sweeney. One has her sensually sliding right into a pair of denims whereas explaining what genes are. “Denims are handed down from dad and mom to offspring, usually figuring out traits like hair shade, character, and even eye shade,” she stated. “My denims are blue.” Reduce to a male voice-over and tagline: “Sydney Sweeney has nice denims.”
That double entendre between denim and genetic traits instantly raised the ire of the web, with many pointing to the very blond hair and blue eyes of the marketing campaign’s star as an advanced and divisive ultimate to be touting in 2025. Accusations hurled on the model ranged from plain ignorance to full-on Nazi propaganda. On the opposite finish are these discovering contemporary fodder for his or her screams towards the “woke thoughts virus.”
Wherever you stand on that spectrum, there isn’t any denying the truth that the marketing campaign has gone a lot greater than it ever would have on account of this outsize damaging response. It doesn’t matter what anybody says, this was actually not the model’s intention.
Defining second
This was no one-off social publish, however a full-throated model extravaganza. American Eagle chief advertising officer Craig Brommers was hyping its scale on LinkedIn final week, about how it could hit the Sphere in Las Vegas, 3D billboards in Instances Sq. and L.A., a Euphoria partnership with HBO Max, and extra. “An enormous thank-you and CONGRATULATIONS to our inner groups and exterior companions—and SYDNEY herself—for this defining second,” Brommers wrote.
Ashley Schapiro, American Eagle’s vp of selling, media, efficiency, and engagement, wrote a LinkedIn publish outlining a part of the method. She stated that on a Zoom name with Sweeney, they requested her, “How far do you need to push it?”
“With out hesitation, she smirked and stated, ‘Let’s push it. I’m sport.’ Our response? ‘Problem Accepted,’” Schapiro wrote. “From that second on, Syd’s sentiment guided each body, each sew and each surprising twist of the “Sydney Sweeney Has Nice Denims”👖marketing campaign. Infusing our personal private cheeky vitality and making us 😂 as we envisioned how the world would expertise the launch. … The ⭐️ star energy of Sydney and the double which means behind the marketing campaign has a culture-shaping energy past something I might have ever imagined being part of—simply examine your social feeds.”
There are any variety of methods to speak about this advert and marketing campaign total—from whether or not it deliberately or not promotes outdated genetic beliefs as to if the meant viewers is individuals who purchase denims or these shopping for meme shares. However let’s have a look at these spots as artistic promoting concepts.
Reheated concepts
The spot that includes Sweeney squeezing right into a pair of denims whereas mendacity down and doling out a genetics lesson is a outstanding facsimile of Calvin Klein’s 1980 spot with Brooke Shields giving her personal breakdown of genetics whereas … you guessed it … squeezing right into a pair of denims whereas mendacity down.
One other Sweeney spot has her going all meta, insisting that she’s not attempting to get you to purchase American Eagle denims in any respect.
This hews extremely near a 2017 Sprite advert starring LeBron James, through which the NBA star insists that he’s not right here to persuade you to drink the soda in any respect.
Similar to the controversy itself, the concepts right here aren’t new. However there was a quite simple technique to function the very same work with out all of the damaging baggage.
That means over intent
Marcus Collins, a advisor, writer, and College of Michigan advertising professor, usually writes about manufacturers as vessels for which means. That means is subjective, not goal, and that’s one thing all model entrepreneurs want to remember. On Instagram, Collins stated: “Regardless of regardless of the intentions the model had in making this advert, what it communicates to folks is that there’s a prototypical commonplace for good genes: white, blonde hair, blue eyes. And naturally, particularly contemplating the political and social cultural backdrop that we’re in proper now, that might appear to be some fairly dangerous canine whistling.”
Collins goes on to stipulate how American Eagle might have finished this marketing campaign with out the whistle. Why not function different folks, who should be objectively stunning, as an example a wide range of good denims? Collins factors to stars like Idris Elba or Halle Berry, however American Eagle needn’t even have seemed outdoors their very own model roster.
Final yr, the model launched a collab assortment with tennis star Coco Gauff, in addition to her second advert marketing campaign for the slogan “Reside Your Life.” The 21-year-old is just not solely within the model’s ultimate age bracket, she’s additionally sensible, fashionable, stunning, and simply occurs to have a group of 19 skilled tennis trophies, together with the 2023 U.S. Open and 2025 French Open titles.
Now, these are some fairly rattling good denims, too.
