The Denim Debacle: Public Reactions to Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle Ad Campaign

“Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” an advertisement featuring Sweeney promoting a line of denim, sparked controversies far beyond style chatter.

On July 23, 2025, American Eagle, a popular American clothing and accessories retailer, launched the soon-to-be infamous advertisement featuring Sydney Sweeney. Sweeney, an actress known for her roles in numerous movies and television shows, along with her attractive features and bubbly personality, starred in this playful showcase of AE’s new line of denim released in partnership with her. 

Celebrity endorsements of women’s clothing have historically driven success, so why would this campaign be any different? Yet, backlash towards AE, Sweeney, and American society as a whole proved that both the public and the political response were highly negative.

Critics accused the campaign of reinforcing the idea of eugenics, a term most commonly associated with Nazism, where selective breeding methods are used to improve the human race. The pun they used, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” meant also to imply that she has great genes. With her blonde hair, blue eyes, and all-American look, this was seen as an allusion to genetic purity. Similarly, the advertisement was accused of promoting the white beauty standard and even echoing some forms of white supremacist propaganda. Several advocacy groups quickly weighed in, calling for the campaign’s removal and stating that a major corporation such as AE has a responsibility to avoid racially charged undertones. 

Even more outrageous to the general public, however, was the campaign’s claim to support domestic violence awareness through donations to the Crisis Text Line. The juxtaposition of a sexually suggestive denim advertisement with such a sensitive cause was extremely inappropriate, coming off as completely tone-deaf and the opposite of true advocacy.

Furthermore, according to industry analysts, the advertisement represents a turning point away from “wokeism” and towards more traditional forms of advertisement that highly sexualizes women. Historical parallels were drawn between the ad and Brooke Shields’ infamous Calvin Klein jeans ad. Filmed when she was just 15 years old, the ad featured extremely suggestive movements in the jeans to garner attention. Critics saw AE’s attempt as a continuation of the fashion industry’s long history of objectifying women, noting that Sweeney’s tone and the camera's lingering focus made the comparison hard to ignore. 

Even President Trump said on his own social media app, Truth Social, that she had the “hottest ad out there.” This statement from the president of the United States is a definite indication that American society is moving away from the bits of progress that have been made in the past decades.

The cultural criticism spilled into wider social media, but in a more humorous manner. On popular platform TikTok, impressions of Sweeney’s delivery of the line “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring” with her flat expression, exaggerated rasp, and strained vocal fry quickly became a meme, with clips going viral.

Upon closer examination, however, this campaign seems almost like a calculated stunt. Regardless of whether people like it or hate it, the attention it generated, with over 40 billion social media impressions, has only boosted sales—her “Syd’s Picks” jeans sold out in just a week. 

Additionally, AE’s stock jumped over 38 percent in a single day, after the company reported a major surge in Q2 revenue due to the advertisement. Chief Marketing Officer Craig Brammers described the collaboration as not only a “product push,” but also a “brand and business reset” meant to propel American Eagle back into cultural relevance. 

As someone interested in the world of marketing, I find the overall success of this campaign extremely impressive and fascinating. On one hand, American Eagle undeniably achieved its goal of driving record sales, but on the other, the controversy revealed just how easily marketing tactics can revive harmful stereotypes and trivialize serious causes. Although the midguided themes presented may not have been intentional on AE’s part, the discussions sparked throughout America about beauty standards, representation, feminism, and politics are conversations that just might prove to be more valuable than the jeans themselves.

Holly Hong ‘29