It’s no secret that companies have used all kinds of tactics in their efforts to promote their products or services. And the American Eagle company is no exception. The American Eagle jeans commercial featuring actress Sydney Sweeney has become a hot topic recently. The commercial begins with Sweeney talking about how the jeans fit to accentuate a particular part of the body, and if you want to purchase the jeans, she won’t stop you. Throughout the commercial, Sweeney is seen participating in a variety of regular activities. It was during one segment of the ad that has created some eyebrow raising moments.
For those that are unaware, Sweeney gained fame for her role as Cassie Howard in the HBO drama series Euphoria. The series began in 2019 and is still currently in production as of this writing. Sweeney was nominated for a Primetime Emmy award for Most Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama series in 2022. Her photogenic looks have given her status as a prime candidate for endorsement opportunities. In 2025, Sweeney has been featured promoting products from Baskin Robbins, Lanierge, and Dr. Squatch. The latter company worked with Sweeney to create a soap that both claim is infused with a touch of Sweeney’s bathwater. Measuring the appeal of using soap that contains someone else’s bathwater is a task better left to a space other than this one.
As interesting as used bathwater based soap might be, it isn’t the most interesting of Sweeney’s ads. In Sweeney’s American Eagle ad, she makes a reference to parents passing jeans onto their offspring. She equates her blue eyes to the American Eagle jeans that she’s wearing in the ad. It was an odd reference to make, as there’s no apparent connection between having a certain phenotype and a particular brand of blue jeans. The ad drew backlash, claiming that the jeans are made primarily for a particular demographic when relating blue eyes to blue jeans. The ad’s tagline, “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” could be construed differently when substituting the word “jeans” for “genes”. It’s that use of wordplay that makes the connection between “jeans” and “genes”.
As of this writing, neither Sweeney nor American Eagle has commented on the ad campaign. In reality, they shouldn’t have to. American enterprise dictates that companies can create and market their particular goods and services to whichever demographic they desire. That assertion isn’t a popular stance that aligns with current social and cultural sensibilities. 2025 has maintained that diversity, equity, and inclusion (or DEI) are standards of acceptable cultural and social practices. It’s hard to see how relating blue eyes to blue jeans aligns with these cultural and social practices.
American Eagle isn’t trying to align themselves with a DEI initiative with this particular ad. It also isn’t illegal for American Eagle to run an ad campaign that targets a certain demographic to market their goods to. Within the ad in question, Sweeney herself says ” But if you said you want to buy the jeans, I won’t stop you.” At that point, consumers should use their own discretion regarding purchasing these jeans. If the ad campaign or the product isn’t appealing, there’s no reason to purchase the product. If the campaign or product is appealing, then purchase the product. And that’s really what ad campaigns are all about.