Last week, the company released an ad featuring actress Sydney Sweeney. Since it first aired last week, the ad has been widely criticized. The ad uses the provocative tagline “Sydney Sweeney looks good in any jeans.” Originally intended to promote the brand’s denim products, it has launched a surprisingly heated conversation as a result.
This backlash began almost immediately upon the release of the ad, as a number of critics rightfully chided the ad’s messaging, racist insinuations and problematic implications. To counteract the outrage, Sydney Sweeney made a statement via a posting in a new teaser clip. In the video, she remarked on the nature of genetics, stating, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue.”
Sweeney’s comments were meant to reinforce the ad’s focus on denim rather than any perceived underlying messages. It’s no wonder many viewers were alarmed by the teaser video. Nonetheless, they felt it failed to strongly push back against the harshest critiques of the campaign.
American Eagle reacted to the public outcry, defending themselves by saying that the ad was only meant to sell their brand of jeans. The company released a statement that read, “is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
Allen Adamson, co-founder of the marketing consultancy Metaforce, weighed in on the situation, providing insights into the challenges brands face when navigating public perception. He stated, “If you try to follow all the rules, you’ll make lots of people happy, but you’ll fail.”
