Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle Ads Sized Up by Crisis Specialists

Nearly a week after American Eagle released its new ad campaign with Sydney Sweeney, many are still dissing or discussing it, depending whom you ask. For many, the online and social media backlash was rooted in the tagline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Genes.”

In one promotional video, the 27-year-old “White Lotus” and “Euphoria” actress is seen lying on the floor zipping up her jeans, as she says, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color.” The camera then focuses on her face, when she says, “My jeans are blue.” The narrator then says the tagline: “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” Some questioned the narrative and the use of “genes” as a sign of eugenics.

Media requests to American Eagle and its spokesperson at the outside public relations firm We Are Shadow were unreturned Monday and Tuesday. Sweeney’s agency MN2S did not respond to a media request, nor did a representative for the fashion stylist Molly Dickson, who worked on the campaign.

Moroch Partners’ chief executive officer Matt Powell described the controversy as “a non-troversy, as the connection is very much a stretch.” He said, “The smart play for the brand is to not respond in this case. This is especially true knowing that American Eagle is traditionally more conservative and avoids polarizing or provocative stances. If they were to join the conversation, they’d need to be prepared for the conversation that comes with it. Staying silent doesn’t fuel the fire.”

Crisis communications specialist Molly McPherson was unable to comment Tuesday but referred to her Instagram post about the situation. In an Instagram Story, she said, “If you look at the Sydney Sweeney ad and the campaign that is tying in her blue jeans with blue eyes and blonde hair, you think, ‘Hmm…’ When they conceived that ad, it went through all of those different people, and nobody flagged the content thinking it might cause outrage? When you walk into an American Eagle store and look at the customer base, are they worried about outrage online based on this campaign? Not likely.“

McPherson said it doesn’t matter if it’s American Eagle or a Ryan Reynolds-produced ad with Gwyneth Paltrow, nothing is a coincidence. She said, “Everything is choreographed for a reason. There is a puppeteer, who is designing a campaign whether it’s an ad or PR to get you to think about it, have an emotion about it, talk about with other people, and to talk about it online. In the end, it all comes down to this [rubbing a thumb over an index symbol as a sign of money.]”

Prior to the launch in an interview with WWD, American Eagle’s chief marketing officer Craig Brommers described the campaign as “potentially one of the biggest gets in American Eagle history.” He said, “Sydney Sweeney is the ‘It’ girl of the moment, and she is helping us create the ‘It’ jeans campaign of the season. Sydney really encapsulates American Eagle. She is the girl who can play the red carpet but she’s also the girl next door, and that duality really defines Gen Z and Millennials.”

American Eagle is also partnering with Snapchat, which Brommers flagged as “the number-one way that Gen Z communicates with one another.” The brand is creating sponsored Snap Stories, that will allow Sweeney to directly message users. 

A spokesperson for Snapchat declined to say whether it plans to modify its involvement or to comment about the criticism that the campaign is reminiscent of Nazi terminology, and perceived similarities to Calvin Klein’s 1981 campaign with Brooke Shields.

Media requests to Be Real, which is also part of the campaign’s digital efforts, were not acknowledged.

Brommers had touted the campaign’s reach in a LinkedIn post last week that attracted praise and criticism. The initial game plan included a Sphere takeover in Las Vegas, 3D billboards in Times Square and Los Angeles, the first ever Broadcast Channel on Instagram, a Pinterest board with Sweeney’s picks, AI try on technology for AE’s “Great Jeans” and a “Euphoria” partnership on HBO Max.

Caitlin Duffy-Ryon, founder and chief marketing officer of AI Safety & Literacy, posted, “Please explain the thinking behind literally using ‘genes’ in some of the launch advertising? It’s extremely disconcerting to see, especially given today’s political climate.” Anastasia Karklina Gabriel, author of “Cultural Intelligence for Marketers,” wrote, “What exactly was the cultural ‘insight’ behind this outrageously racist and explicitly eugenics coded campaign about blue genes/jeans?”

Others used social media to critique the creative for being similar to Brooke Shields’ “Nothing comes between me and my Calvins” campaign from 1981. A spokesperson for the designer Calvin Klein declined to comment Monday about either controversy tied to the new American Eagle campaign.

The campaign’s debut spurred a rally for the stock, which reportedly increased the market value of the brand by more than $400 million. American Eagle’s shares increased by 4.2 percent on July 24, the day the campaign was released. And after the market closed on Monday, its stock price finished slightly up by 2.47 percent.

Evan Nierman, founder and chief executive officer of the global crisis public relations firm Red Banyan, suggested that American Eagle has “let too much time pass not acknowledging the backlash. The brand has failed to get ahead of the narrative, which is allowing online speculation and outrage to spread.”

“When a campaign sparks this level of cultural criticism, a well-crafted, timely response is everything. American Eagle’s inaction suggests either unpreparedness or a calculated gamble that the storm will pass. Executives may feel good about the elevated share price, yet a silent approach does not inspire public confidence or brand credibility,” he said.

From his view, “any delay in clarifying the campaign’s intent and emphasizing its values “is only going to amplify the perception that it’s indifferent to public concerns. In time, that share price could easily drop,” Nierman said.

Sew Branded’s founder Scott Woodward said Craig Brommers is “a very fine CMO and Jennifer Foyle is a brilliant merchant and executive, but I would have addressed it by now.”

He compared the Sweeney campaign as being as “tone deaf big” as Kendall Jenner’s 2017 Pepsi commercial that was titled “Live for Now — Moments.” Pepsi pulled that ad, after being criticized for attempting to capitalize on the Black Lives Matter movement by imitating protests. Woodward said of American Eagle’s situation, “It’s not going to go away. I don’t think they thought it would land this way with youth and media people. They love being loved too much.”