The Sydney Sweeney ad from American Eagle caused a stir by suggesting a connection between beauty and genetics. Criticism arose regarding potential implications of eugenics, particularly in light of Sweeney's blonde hair and blue eyes. Many assumed the ad was intentionally provocative, seeking to generate buzz on social media. The controversy highlighted the broader implications of messaging in advertising and echoed ongoing cultural debates about race, beauty standards, and the responsibilities of brands. Ultimately, it revealed a troubling aspect of contemporary media culture and public discourse.
The tagline Sydney Sweeney Has Great Genes appears onscreen. View full post on YouTube Get it? Genes sounds like jeans, and she has both great genes (in terms of being conventionally attractive) and great jeans (in terms of wearing American Eagle denim).
In the immediate aftermath of the ad's release, there was some low-key internet pushback suggesting that it appeared to dog-whistle some white-supremacist eugenic theory: to posit Sweeney's blonde and blue-eyed genes as great, goes the argument, is to imply that other genes are not great.
It had been a tempest in a Twitter feed, maximum fuel for Fox News as they continue not to cover Ghislaine Maxwell's transfer to a minimum-security prison. And, I imagine, it was exactly what American Eagle was aiming to accomplish. Business as usual.
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