A provocative new denim campaign featuring the actress leans into retro sexiness — and it’s sparking debate about eugenics and ‘wokeness.’
A provocative new denim campaign featuring the actress leans into retro sexiness — and it’s sparking debate about eugenics and ‘wokeness.’
Last Wednesday, American Eagle announced its new ad campaign called “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” The company’s stock has soared since the ads featuring the “White Lotus” and “Euphoria” star dropped.
The title – read as a tagline at the end of several social media videos – provoked a flurry of online discourse before the denim line has even hit stores. Reactions ran the gamut from glee to accusations that the ads promote eugenics.
Here, fashion critic Rachel Tashjian and Style Memo newsletter writer Shane O’Neill discuss the ad campaign and why it’s broken the internet.
Rachel Tashjian: It’s hard not to read everything in pop culture as a referendum on these days, huh? And marketers (especially in fashion) seem acutely aware of that, as this campaign proves.
Let’s start by describing what exactly we’re looking at here: all-American actress Sydney Sweeney in a pair of slouchy, slightly wide-leg jeans,posing in a series of provocative images and videos as a man declares “SYDNEY SWEENEY HAS GOOD JEANS,” for the mall brand American Eagle. And the proceeds from the jeans – $89.99 – all go to a domestic violence help line. Did I miss anything?
Shane O’Neill: Well, the imagery is pretty scattershot, and so is the messaging. We have Sydney Sweeney looking kinda femme and kinda butch. We have her “auditioning” for the commercial and also holding a camcorder, recording herself.
RT: There’s a narrative in these images of that small-town gal moving to the big city, hoping to become a star. I found the audition video really strange – Sweeney is a mega-actress and superbly talented, and she seems very confident and savvy about how she chooses roles. To see her in that uncomfortable setting – where a guy off-camera is asking to see her hands?! – is unsettling.
A large part of her success is her ability to appeal to men and women. And that seemed to be the first point of controversy here: Many of the images and videos, like her filming herself with a camcorder or that audition moment, seem tailored for the male gaze specifically.
SO: The most provocative part of the campaign is when she’s talking about offspring and genes.(She says, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color,” and the camera pans to her blue eyes. “My jeans are blue.”) Sweeney also has softer copy in the press release. She says of American Eagle, “They have literally been there with me through every version of myself.
