Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle Campaign Sparks Buzz and Backlash
So, Sydney Sweeney — who’s basically become one of the most in-demand stars in Hollywood lately — is now the face of American Eagle’s Fall 2025 campaign. It dropped just recently, and it’s already got everyone talking, for better or worse.
The campaign is built around a playful pun: “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.” Cute, right? It plays on both her fashion and, subtly, her genetics — or so it seemed. While American Eagle meant it as a denim-centric joke (especially with Sweeney modeling everything from their Dreamy Drape collection to a pair of limited-edition “Sydney Jeans” she helped design), not everyone saw it that way.
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Here’s where things get complicated: some critics online felt the tagline crossed a line. They argued that it wasn’t just a pun, but a not-so-subtle reference to “great genes” — as in genetics — and that using a blonde, blue-eyed white actress front and center for that kind of slogan made it feel a little too reminiscent of outdated and harmful ideals about beauty and race. One version of the ad even had Sydney painting over the word “genes” to make it “jeans,” which many felt only emphasized the double meaning rather than softened it.
People pointed out that terms like “good genes” have historically been used in eugenics rhetoric — promoting whiteness and Eurocentric beauty as a kind of standard. And whether American Eagle meant to or not, the connection wasn’t lost on audiences. A few social media posts went viral, calling the campaign “tone-deaf” and accusing it of pushing an aesthetic rooted in exclusion.
Still, backlash aside, the campaign is massive. It’s showing up on 3D billboards across the U.S., including Times Square and even the Sphere in Las Vegas. There’s a Snapchat lens where Sydney “talks” to users, and even AI-powered virtual try-ons. She also brought her German Shepherd puppy, Sully, into the spotlight with a cameo, which honestly, is kind of adorable.
On the flip side of all this controversy, the campaign has also done what a lot of marketing dreams of doing — it went viral. American Eagle’s stock reportedly jumped 16% shortly after launch, driven by meme stock behavior and Reddit buzz, not necessarily brand loyalty.
It’s worth mentioning that 100% of the net proceeds from the Sydney Jean — which features a butterfly symbol for domestic violence awareness — are being donated to Crisis Text Line. That’s a big deal and clearly something personal to Sydney. She’s quoted saying that American Eagle’s mission to make people feel confident in their own skin resonates with her deeply.
So yeah, it’s a campaign that’s as layered as the outfits in it — bold, high-profile, well-intended, but definitely stirring up some important conversations about beauty, branding, and what messages we send — even unintentionally.
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