AMERICAN EAGLE X SYDNEY SWEENEY: WHY SO PROBLEMATIC?

Sydney Sweeney’s ad collaboration with American Eagle hit the media and American Eagle stores July 23, 2025. Not only did jean sales skyrocket but so did the various opinions regarding the ad. On one hand, many, including anonymous Clear Creek Amana High School students say, “it was making a common joke about genes and jeans being homophones (being pronounced the same).” or “I don't really care about Sydney Sweeney.” On the other hand, many other students attending this high school state that “...there was an underlying message behind the video” and on a more intense note “I feel like it did have white supremacy motives”. As you can see the opinions regarding the advertisement are halved. This is very similar to the split opinions of people outside of our high school. This being the reality, why are people so upset, and why are they having such intense thoughts and feelings?

THE CONTROVERSIAL SYDNEY SWEENEY AD AT THE LOCAL MALL; PHOTO BY LILI NANDELL

The ad is started by showing Sydney Sweeney leaning back in a pair of unbuttoned jeans or as anonymous says, “she just was modeling jeans.” While she is buttoning her pair of jeans Sydney Sweeney goes on to say that “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring” and that they often determine “traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color.” As of right now this is just a simple play on words and there is nothing truly problematic about it. The ad goes on to say, in a voice over, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”. The placement of this voice over being right after she talks about genes could be interpreted as Sydney Sweeney’s genes being great, even better than others.

The people behind this ad clearly made some poor choices that led to their ad being problematic. Personally I thought, among many other opinions in the media, that this ad pushed that having white skin, blue eyes, and blonde hair were the superior physical ideals valued in America. This is very reminiscent of the 1940s when HITLER was in power, pushing the Aryan race, which included having blonde hair, blue eyes, being non-Jewish, and having white skin which were considered "superior" traits to possess to Nazi Germany. This ad was moving back into the past when we should be growing more into the future. This includes being more diverse and not limiting who or what is seen in the media to those of immense privilege. So, while many might say the ad was truly not that deep, it may not be to you but to many, it is.

With fall coming just around the corner it is time to dig to the back of our closets and grab all of our jeans to put back into rotation. With all that being said, which brand of jeans will you be reaching for?