A new American Eagle ad campaign centered around stunning star Sydney Sweeney has garnered controversy over what one critic called ‘one of the loudest and most obvious racialized dog whistles we’ve seen and heard in a while.’
The Euphoria actress, 27, is the face of the label’s autumn advertising rollout, which has the tagline, ‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.’
In a series of images, the Spokane, Washington-born beauty – who is set to play boxer Christy Martin in an upcoming biopic – is seen modeling a variety of denim-based ensembles.
The choice of phrasing for the advertisements featuring the Emmy-nominated actress – which have also been placed on billboards in New York City and Las Vegas – garnered criticism for problematic elements.
The phrase ‘great genes’ is ‘historically used to celebrate whiteness, thinness and attractiveness,’ which it said made ‘this campaign seem to be a tone-deaf marketing move,’ a Salon report on the backlash read.
Daily Mail has reached out to reps for Sweeney and American Eagle for further comment on the story.
A new American Eagle ad campaign centered around stunning star Sydney Sweeney, 27, has garnered controversy over what critics say is an ugly allusion to racial superiority
The Emmy-nominated actress is the face of the label’s autumn advertising rollout, which has the tagline, ‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’
An TikTok user named Angie under the handle @vital_media_marketing reviewed the ad and pointed out what she felt were problematic elements with the message sent in the ad campaign.
‘As it’s paining up her body and on her face and her features, she’s literally talking about her family tree and the genetics that have been handed down to her, her blonde hair and her blue eyes, and how great they are.
Angie said that ‘praising Sydney Sweeney for her great genes in the context of her white blonde hair, blue eye appearance’ makes for ‘one of the loudest and most obvious racialized dog whistles we’ve seen and heard in a while.’
The campaign was criticized by a number of people online, who said it had clear racial undertones
Many people panned the tone of the ad campaign on American Eagle’s Instagram page, as one user quipped, It’s giving “Subtle 1930’s Germany”
Another person said the promotion ‘is what happens when you have no [people] of color in a room … particularly in a time like this.
‘This ad campaign got so caught up in this “clever” play on words and this stunt the ppl in the room missed what was so blatantly obvious to anyone not White. I’d expect this from Abercrombie… but not yall.’
One user wrote of the promotion featuring the surging star, ‘This is such a f****d up campaign.
