ARE WE REALLY GOING TO LET AMERICAN EAGLE GET AWAY WITH THIS? Surely, we are smarter than this advert presents and deserve better?
BY ALEX J.
American Eagle (a denim brand in America) decided to roll out a new advert with Sydney Sweeney from Euphoria and The White Lotus Hotel. The “joke” in the advert is that she has great “jeans” and then American Eagle get cute with it, swapping in “genes” as in DNA. Sweeney, in full blonde‑blue‑eyed glory, talks about her genes giving her her looks, before dropping, “My jeans/genes are blue.”
Yeah, we get it. It’s a pun. But let’s not pretend that’s all it is.
Here’s why people aren’t laughing
“Good genes” isn’t some innocent little phrase. It’s got a history, one tied to eugenics, racial purity and the idea that some people are “naturally” better than others based on how they look. Now put that phrase in the mouth of a White, “conventionally” attractive actress who literally describes her blonde hair and blue eyes, and you’ve got… well, exactly what this ad is.
And don’t forget, we’re not living in some post‑racism utopia. We’re in an era where white supremacist talking points are making their way back into the mainstream. Pretending language like this is harmless is either wildly naïve or deliberately careless.
The diversity that never showed up
Here’s the part that really gets on my last nerve – it’ this ad could have worked. The exact same pun could’ve been cute, even empowering if American Eagle featured a genuinely diverse cast. Show people of different races, sizes, genders, abilities and characteristics all saying they have “great jeans.” That flips the joke into something inclusive.
Instead, American Eagle basically said, “Our definition of ‘great genes’ looks like Sydney Sweeny… this one very specific person.” And we’re supposed to just clap along?
The charity deflection
Yes, sales of “The Sydney Jean” go to a domestic violence charity. That’s good. But in the actual ad? You wouldn’t even know. It feels less like a cause and more like an excuse they pull out after people complain.
Why this isn’t just “people being sensitive”
It’s easy for defenders to say, “It’s just a joke” or a “pun”. But the thing is jokes land differently depending on who’s telling them and what they’re about. This one lands in a long history of exclusionary beauty standards. That’s why people are mad. This is leaning into Hitler territory.
Advertising has power. It shapes who gets celebrated, who gets centred and who gets left out. American Eagle had the chance to make a playful, inclusive campaign. Instead, they made something that winks at a history of racial purity and acts like we’re overreacting for noticing.
Puns aren’t neutral when they’re tied to loaded history and only one kind of person is in the frame. If brands want to be cheeky, cool - but they need to stop being lazy, stop ignoring context, and maybe, just maybe, put more than one type of face in their ads.