
American Eagle waited the perfect amount of time to react
to the hullabaloo over its Sydney Sweeney jeans/genes campaign.
Just as the backlash was starting to die down, the company issued a statement via Instagram on Aug.
1.
“The company's clarification was aimed at critics who've called the promotional blitz a veiled attempt to endorse eugenics,” according to USA Today. “The apparel
brand's statement comes more than a week after the brand on July 23 launched its new campaign starring Sweeney, which includes a pair of pants -- called 'The Sydney Jean' -- that raises money for the
Crisis Text Line.”
The statement appears as white text on a blue background.
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“Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans' is and always was about the
jeans,” according to the post. “Her jeans. Her story. We'll
continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way," the statement read. "Great jeans look good on everyone.”
Reaction to the campaign included
some critics saying it appeared to promote eugenics. Others, including conservative-leaning news sites, a White House spokesperson, and Vice President J.D. Vance, said those reaction were
“woke” and overblown.
Many commentators had opinions about the original ad, and the backlash.
“The jeans/genes play is a garden-variety dad pun,” notes The Atlantic. “But when uttered by Sweeney—a blond, blue-eyed
actor whose buxomness and comfort in her own skin seems to drive everyone just a little bit insane—it becomes something else. Sweeney does not speak much about her politics (for interested
parties, there are potential clues, such as a 2020 tweet supporting Black Lives Matter and a mention of having conservative relatives), but this hasn’t stopped the right wing
from framing her as one of their own.”
Even the controversial Brooke Shields’ Calvin Klein jeans ad from 1980 was never construed as political.
“The great ongoing American conversation escalated into a great American bar fight this summer, as a long and increasingly unhinged national back-and-forth about race, politics,
sexuality, the nature of both the Trump administration and fame itself was triggered by … a jeans ad,” according to CNN Entetainment.
Bottom line -- and hopefully this will blow
over now -- American Eagle got its 15 minutes of fame and then some.
“This is the modern formula for outrage marketing,” said Molly McPherson, crisis and reputation
strategist, according to CNN Entertainment. “You spark debate, you drive engagement, you ride the wave. And then when the dust settles, American Eagle gets the clicks, the coverage and also the
crash.”