In late July, fashion brand American Eagle debuted their campaign with actress Sydney Sweeney: a series of ads with the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”
The dimly-lit Backrooms-esque setting of the ads, combined with the horror movie villain voice muttering “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” at the end of each ad, lead to an uneasy vibe. If it were not for the denim subject matter, you would think the videos were an experimental horror film with a slasher set to jump out at any moment.
Although Sweeney has proven her acting ability in shows like “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus,” the ads use the double entendre of “Sydney Sweeney has good jeans” to play on the fact that Sweeney is known for her looks above her acting ability. It appears that Sweeney is well aware of her public perception, and she takes advantage of it; earlier this summer, she successfully sold soap infused with her bathwater. Is Sweeney’s self-sexualization her reclaiming her body or allowing herself to be objectified?
Sweeney’s jeans ad is similar to Brooke Shields’ infamous Calvin Klein denim ad. The ad, which aired in 1980, starred a 15-year-old Shields as she dressed herself in jeans while delivering a monologue on genetics. The genes/jeans wordplay, along with the smooth camerawork and strange subject matter, make the inspiration obvious. It is clear that American Eagle intended to cause some controversy with this reference, but even the reference to Calvin Klein’s previous exploitation of a minor is too creepy to dismiss.
The campaign also uses language reminiscent of Nazi ideology and eugenics, with one of the ads ending with Sweeney saying, “My jeans are blue,” followed by “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” The statement the ad is making is questionable. Why is a brand calling a white, blonde and blue-eyed woman particularly “great”? What makes Sweeney’s genes greater than others? The American Eagle ad places Sweeney’s whiteness as desirable–something that is particularly relevant as anti-DEI efforts aim to conceal diversity.
The ad immediately saw support from conservative personalities online who saw criticism of the video as an attack on sex appeal from liberals. After being informed of Sweeney’s Republican voter registration, President Trump posted on Truth Social praising her and the ad, calling it the “HOTTEST ad out there.” Trump also criticized “woke” ad campaigns like car brand Jaguar’s redesign and Bud Light’s sponsorship with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. The reaction from conservative figures like Trump reflects a shift in MAGA ideology to appeal to young men–something that helped Trump win the 2024 election.
The debate over Sweeney’s ad continued for weeks until retailer GAP unveiled their “Better in Denim campaign.” The main commercial is a minute and a half of hypnotic camerawork and photography featuring global girl group Katseye and an array of dancers of different race, body type and gender–all sporting GAP Jeans. Posted less than a month after the American Eagle campaign, the GAP campaign is not a direct response to the ad, but amidst a denim culture war, the timing could not be better for GAP.
The abundance of dancers moving in synchrony depicts a story of unity despite differences and stands in contrast to the sole star of American Eagle’s ads.