Sydney Sweeney’s recent partnership with American Eagle Outfitters has generated substantial online criticism. <\/p>\n
The ad campaign, which focuses on the company\u2019s new line of denim products, is centered around the tagline \u201cSydney Sweeney has great jeans” \u2014 and people have a lot to say about the slogan’s messaging.<\/p>\n
Chatter surrounding the collaboration has added the brand to a growing list of companies experiencing \u201cmeme stock\u201d booms, CNBC reported<\/a>, or a stock that gains popularity through social media. After the initiative debuted, shares of the company\u2019s stock jumped more than 4%.<\/p>\n So, why are people talking about the ad? Here is everything you need to know.<\/p>\n What do the Sydney Sweeney ads for American Eagle depict?<\/strong><\/p>\n In American Eagle\u2019s fall campaign, Sydney Sweeney shows off the company\u2019s latest collection of denim. <\/p>\n Videos from the promotion focus on the \u201cEuphoria\u201d and \u201cAnyone But You\u201d star’s denim-clad body as she lounges with a puppy<\/a>, fixes a car<\/a> and buttons up a pair of over-sized jeans<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cSydney Sweeney has great jeans,\u201d the campaign\u2019s slogan booms at the end of each clip as a play on the words \u201cgenes\u201d and \u201cjeans.\u201d <\/p>\n The ads play up the homophone “good jeans” and “good genes.”<\/p>\n \u201cGenes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My genes are blue,\u201d Sweeney says in one ad as the camera pans her body while she buttons a pair of jeans. <\/p>\n Another print ad spells out, \u201cSydney Sweeney has great genes,\u201d but crosses out the \u201cgenes\u201d and writes in \u201cjeans.\u201d<\/p>\n The collection features over 200 fits of jeans and over 50 new styles. In the campaign announcement<\/a>, President and Executive Creative Director at American Eagle explains Sweeney\u2019s role in the ad.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Sydney Sweeney front and center, she brings the allure, and we add the flawless wardrobe for the winning combo of ease, attitude and a little mischief,\u201d the announcement reads. <\/p>\n Why is the ad campaign causing controversy? <\/strong><\/p>\n The campaign has stirred up mixed opinions on the internet, raising questions about its intent and implications. <\/p>\n For some, the campaign\u2019s central messaging about genes uphold outdated and harmful standards of beauty, and even promote eugenic ideals. <\/p>\n Eugenics is an evolutionary theory aimed to select \u201cdesired heritable characteristics in order to improve future generations,\u201d according to Encyclopedia Britannica<\/a>. The movement has a long history, but in the U.S., it historically used “genetic superiority” as justification for white supremacy.<\/p>\n The ad\u2019s messaging surrounding \u201cgood genes\u201d feels like a wink to eugenic ideals. <\/p>\n \u201cThem choosing \u2018Sydney Sweeney has great genes\u2019 was not an accident,\u201d one user said in a TikTok video<\/a> that received over one million views. \u201cIt\u2019s a dog whistle towards the rise of people who are wanting to see more people who look like them everywhere.\u201d <\/p>\n A representative for Sweeney declined to comment to NBC News. American Eagle did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Cheryl Overton, Chief Experience Officer at integrated marketing communications firm Cheryl Overton Communications, says context is important. The promotion \u201cdoesn\u2019t exist in a vacuum,\u201d she says. Instead, it occurs in \u201ca country actively grappling with social standards rooted in whiteness.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cThe subtext isn\u2019t imagined; it\u2019s rooted in centuries-old narrative about one archetype of beauty that is seen as genetically superior or \u2018aspirational,\u201d Overton tells TODAY.com. <\/p>\n While the ad never references race, Hillary Herskowitz, CEO and Founder of H2 Marketing Group, tells TODAY.com there is \u201cno denying\u201d that the phrase \u201ccarries historical baggage.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you pair that kind of wordplay with a blond, blue-eyed actress, it can unintentionally reinforce narrow, Eurocentric beauty standards,\u201d she adds. <\/p>\n Whether this implication is purposeful is up for debate. <\/p>\n Overton says the messaging could be the result of a \u201cblind spot of a team lacking cultural fluency\u201d or a \u201cbrand looking actively to cull consumers who value diversity from its base.\u201d <\/p>\n Herskowitz sees the ad as being designed to provoke a reaction. <\/p>\n \u201cIntentional,\u201d Herskowitz says. \u201cThat line \u2014 \u2018good jeans\u2019 \u2014 is too perfectly constructed not to be. It was designed to be cheeky, playful and buzzworthy. The creative team knew exactly what they were doing.”<\/p>\n Adrienne Alexander, owner of the PR firm IPY Agency, points out the extensive process campaigns like this go through, and says multiple teams likely signed off on the language.<\/p>\n \u201cCampaigns like this go through many hands, including creative, legal, PR, and brand strategy, so it\u2019s unlikely that no one flagged the potential issue. More likely, the team underestimated the reaction or saw it as a playful pun rather than a loaded phrase. Either way, the responsibility remains the same: if you spark a conversation, be prepared to own it and respond accordingly,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n The ad has also garnered criticism for sexualizing Sweeney. Some say the ad\u2019s close-up shots of the actor seem to objectify her and cater to the male gaze. <\/p>\n \u201cAre we selling jeans to women or selling women in jeans to men?\u201d one user commented on American Eagle\u2019s Instagram<\/a>. <\/p>\n The limited edition Sydney Jean, produced with Sweeney, has a butterfly motif on the back pocket representing domestic violence awareness, per a press release<\/a> from the company, and the entirety of the purchase price will be donated to the Crisis Text Line. <\/p>\n Marketing professor Melissa Murphy calls the juxtaposition of the sexual nature of the ads, plus the domestic violence tie-in, “mismatched” tonally.<\/p>\n Some viewers have also pointed out that the ad feels reminiscent of a controversial Calvin Klein campaign<\/a> from 1980 featuring a teenage Brooke Shields. <\/p>\n \u201cYou want to know what comes in between me and my Calvins? Nothing,\u201d the then 15-year-old model said in the ad as the camera panned her entire body. <\/p>\n The moment caused an uproar for holding sexual implications and taking advantage of the young star. Shields later spoke out about the moment<\/a>, saying she was unaware of the ad\u2019s meaning. <\/p>\n