This Is the Real Problem With Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle Ad

There are two major problems with the (overblown) Sydney Sweeney American Eagle denim ad campaign controversy, which has detractors saying it promotes pro-eugenics messaging and Donald Trump saying Sweeney is a babe and a half: One is that society can’t seem to find a shred of chill about Sweeney herself, and the other is that the ad is just, well, a goofy mess.

The collective inability to be chill about Sweeney is long documented, and she’s long worked through it: In 2022, Sweeney told The Hollywood Reporter, “If I wanted to take a six-month break, I don’t have income to cover that,” pointing out expenses like a publicist, styling, a mortgage. “If I just acted, I wouldn’t be able to afford my life in L.A. I take deals because I have to.” And here’s this: a deal. In May, it was soap containing traces of her used bathwater. You want a piece of Sweeney? Fine, you can buy it for $8.

As for the discovery that Sweeney is apparently registered in Florida as a Republican as of June 2024, linked to a waterfront address in Summerland Key that was purchased around the same time, well, are you really surprised? This is the same woman who threw a hoedown-themed surprise 60th birthday party for her mother in 2022 featuring red, MAGA-style “Make 60 Great Again” hats and attendees with shirts bearing pro-police symbols. Trump, upon discovering that she’s a registered Republican, was thrilled, but in the same way Trump’s thoughts on Taylor Swift are irrelevant to her life and intentions, his ramblings do not give more or less meaning to Sweeney’s denim demolition derby. As Sweeney herself told VF last year, people “just create their own idea of who you are. I see that all the time with me.”

Some of the ad’s detractors pointed out the eugenics-flavored problems with a white, blonde woman being congratulated on her “good genes,” as Sweeney is in the campaign. I see it, certainly, but the more immediate problem is that the campaign’s wave at wordplay—”genes” and “jeans” sound the same when you say them out loud, get it? Wow!—doesn’t make a lick of sense.

In one campaign video, after giving a two-line summary of traits being passed down genetically, Sweeney throatily whispers, “My jeans are blue.” Yes. They are. And what would blue genes even mean? Nothing. If someone can explain, please do.

The ad is a weak imitation of the controversial ‘80s Brooke Shields Calvin Klein ads, where the then-15-year-old declared that nothing came between her and her Calvins. Vintage video cameras and grainy filters, that “all-American” look of a simple white top and blue jeans, the whole undone perfection thing—the American Eagle clips check all the boxes. It’s not an homage, it’s a retread: The campaign has no self-aware winks to reflect that mindsets may have evolved in the more than four decades since Shields’ time in her Calvins. AE president and creative director Jennifer Foyle characterized the copycat campaign in a July statement as “celebrating what makes our brand iconic—trendsetting denim that leads, never follows.”

Sweeney steps into a vintage car and revs the engine, hot girl in a hot car. In another clip posted to AE’s Instagram feed, she says that her favorite jeans are “probably a straight leg or a baggy pair.” As she says so, she’s wearing a pair with an exaggerated flare. It’s the lowest of effort on the part of AE.

Likely through no fault of Sweeney’s, the American Eagle ad is a tired take on an outdated idea of Americana. After Trump praised the ad, American Eagle’s stock value soared, once again underlining a mass commitment to basic, antiquated conservative values. Welcome to America, where men are men, women are barefoot babes, and nothing is cooler than a chrome-trimmed car. Cue the bald eagle screech.

In July, AE chief marketing officer Craig Brommers teased the project to WWD, saying, “The campaign is definitely going to push buttons and have fun, and probably be a little more sensual than we’ve been in recent years—with this underlying optimism and humor that only Sydney Sweeney can bring.” (American Eagle did not respond to Vanity Fair‘s request for comment.)

Are the optimism and humor in the room with us now?

Interestingly, a co-branded ultra-wide leg jean featuring a large butterfly embroidery on one thigh-butt intersection has a larger cause: All proceeds from that pant’s $89.95 purchase price benefit Crisis Text Line, a group to help victims of domestic violence. This isn’t mentioned in the advertising, and is only called out in small text on the product page.

You might ask, for an item as classic as blue jeans, is there anything new to be done? Actually, yes! Take one look at Beyoncé’s Levi’s campaign, the fourth installment of which just dropped. It’s visually cool, it has a little plot, and she also is hot while wearing jeans. And, in this tale of two denim ads, it’s proof that even though jeans are basic, the way companies sell them doesn’t have to be.