Sydney Sweeney, an American Eagle ad campaign and why it sparked backlash

USA Today

a day ago

This time it isn't Sydney Sweeney's bathwater causing controversy. It's her jeans.
The 27-year-old "Euphoria" star is featured in a new American Eagle Fall 2025 denim campaign with the tagline "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans."
The brand described the campaign as "a return to essential denim dressing," with Sweeney rocking 1970s-style flare jeans paired with a denim jacket. The collection services a good cause: The "Sydney Jean" has a butterfly motif on the back pocket to signal domestic violence awareness, "which Sydney is passionate about," the brand said in its July 23 announcement.
And 100% of the purchase price from 'The Sydney Jean' will go to Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit offering free, 24/7, confidential mental health support to anyone in need — just text 741741.
The ad, despite its charitable link, drew mixed responses. In one of the campaign videos, a reclining Sweeney buttons up her jeans as the camera pans up her body and she speaks in a matter-of-fact tone, saying "genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue."
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Many didn't see a problem with the the ad. But some said it was too sexy for its charitable cause. And a chunk of the backlash also pointed to a more serious undertone: Some said an allusion to "great genes" in an ad featuring a blond-haired blue-eyed woman felt like a reference to eugenics, the discredited belief that the human population can be improved through selective breeding.
American Eagle did not immediately return USA TODAY's request for comment.
The responses remind us it's increasingly the norm for consumers to scrutinize brands from every angle — especially as a plugged-in public pays close attention in today's political climate, according to Marcus Collins, clinical assistant professor of marketing at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
"There's a want and need to engage more than ever before," he said. And, in the case of some brand launches, the scrutiny may be the point, he added.
Our posts and comments about the campaign catapult American Eagle into the spotlight regardless of the company's intent, said Giana M. Eckhardt, a professor of marketing at King's College London. And the campaign has been successful, she said. Shares for the brand soared following the launch.
The brand is not in control of what resonates — we are, Eckhardt added.
"Particular interpretations can take on a life of their own," she said.
No bc these ads made me vehemently uncomfortable 😭 I can't imagine how twisted that must feel to see as a poc. American eagle count your days 👏 #thatsnot #sydneysweeney #genes #eugenics #dogwhistle #americaneagle #weird #creepy #uncomfortable #awkward #megamind
"The words we use are never unintentional," one TikToker argued. "For American Eagle to say Sydney Sweeney has good genes is not an accident ... This is a dog whistle to the rise of conservatism in this country."
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WHOSE IDEA WAS THIS??? #sydneysweeney #americaneaglejeans
The jeans/genes double entendre isn't a new one. One TikToker noted the ad referenced a 1980s Brooke Shield's Calvin Klein campaign (that received backlash for sexualizing a minor).
But in 2025, the language comes amid a zeitgeist defined by major brands rolling back diversity and inclusive initiatives, according to Collins.
"This feels pretty on brand for (companies) these day ," Collins said. Many brands have backed off of the robust diversity promises that spawned myriad campaigns following the death of George Floyd in 2020, he said.
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Whatever American Eagle intended with the campaign, what matters most is our perception, he added.
The backlash is also showing companies that a swath of consumers still certainly value representation, said Einav Rabinovitch-Fox, a professor of gender at Case Western Reserve University. This kind of pressure can work, she said. Take how shoppers boycotted Target and other big stores in response to anti-DEI measures earlier this year, she said.
"There is power to that."