Sydney Sweeney / American Eagle Controversy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the rise of the right wing and the associated racism and anti-Semitism and nativism is a serious threat to this nation.

But I don't see this commercial as connected in any way to that threat.

+1
Honestly think this is about her body and not her race or even her coloring.

[Anonymous]

Np

Are her boobs real? If so, they’re pretty damned impressive. Otherwise I don’t find her all that pretty. Dead eyed fish look

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree she's an odd choice of spokesperson for this brand. I remember a few years ago AE's swimsuit line made headlines for using "real" non-airbrushed models, with cellulite, imperfect bikini lines, etc. who looked like regular gals you'd see on any beach. SS's look and appeal is... not that.

Hmm - wonder if the “real body” campaign didn’t land…?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the rise of the right wing and the associated racism and anti-Semitism and nativism is a serious threat to this nation.

But I don't see this commercial as connected in any way to that threat.

+1
Honestly think this is about her body and not her race or even her coloring.

Really? You don’t see it when she says “great jeans (genes obviously) are passed down from parents to their offspring …. Mine are blue.” What does that have to do with selling pants?

I mean you can choose to ignore it I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this ad is a bit tone deaf, but not actually offensive. They could easily just add a couple more pairs of jeans/spokespeople and defuse all of this, so they may go that route.

None of the people who care about this would actually buy AE jeans so no need to waste money.

I disagree. There is definitely an extreme contingent that thinks AE is promoting eugenics, but there are also a lot of younger women who seem to dislike the ad because they don’t like how Sydney panders to men and — although they haven’t really articulated it this way — they find it cringy. I see so many TikTok videos of attractive* users mocking her because of her weird pronunciation. These sexy ads remind me od perfume commercials — awkward and earnest and desperate to seem sexy, and that alone kills their appeal among Gen Zers

*I know it sounds weird to bring up they’re attractive, but I’m mentioning it because a lot of people seem to think the backlash is coming from a bunch of ugly, jealous women.

I saw an ad today of her at Baskin Robbins sucking her drink through a straw while two male employees look on, dumbfounded. I was struck by the infantile drink which was a strawberry soda type thing with gummy bears floating in it. I don't know what Gen zers find sexy but I doubt it's this.

The guys probably like it. It’s like the waitresses they have at Hooters, they don’t put the girls in tight tank tops and tiny shorts to sell wings and beer to women.

Hooter is kept afloat by reitrement-age men. No Gen Z guys are going to Hooters.

[Anonymous]

I thought it was fine until I heard this first ad: https://youtu.be/2DNyA-6X0cI?si=Ejj_dmDrGaJrpsJy. It’s at a minimum tone deaf for this current era.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this ad is a bit tone deaf, but not actually offensive. They could easily just add a couple more pairs of jeans/spokespeople and defuse all of this, so they may go that route.

None of the people who care about this would actually buy AE jeans so no need to waste money.

I disagree. There is definitely an extreme contingent that thinks AE is promoting eugenics, but there are also a lot of younger women who seem to dislike the ad because they don’t like how Sydney panders to men and — although they haven’t really articulated it this way — they find it cringy. I see so many TikTok videos of attractive* users mocking her because of her weird pronunciation. These sexy ads remind me od perfume commercials — awkward and earnest and desperate to seem sexy, and that alone kills their appeal among Gen Zers

*I know it sounds weird to bring up they’re attractive, but I’m mentioning it because a lot of people seem to think the backlash is coming from a bunch of ugly, jealous women.

I saw an ad today of her at Baskin Robbins sucking her drink through a straw while two male employees look on, dumbfounded. I was struck by the infantile drink which was a strawberry soda type thing with gummy bears floating in it. I don't know what Gen zers find sexy but I doubt it's this.

The guys probably like it. It’s like the waitresses they have at Hooters, they don’t put the girls in tight tank tops and tiny shorts to sell wings and beer to women.

Hooter is kept afloat by reitrement-age men. No Gen Z guys are going to Hooters.

They just declared bankruptcy so it's hard to say they're much afloat.

My wife, genuinely, likes the wings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought it was fine until I heard this first ad: https://youtu.be/2DNyA-6X0cI?si=Ejj_dmDrGaJrpsJy. It’s at a minimum tone deaf for this current era.

I just can’t imagine the leadership of AE didn’t know what they were doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the rise of the right wing and the associated racism and anti-Semitism and nativism is a serious threat to this nation.

But I don't see this commercial as connected in any way to that threat.

+1
Honestly think this is about her body and not her race or even her coloring.

Have you watched the ad? She talks genes being passed down that affect hair and eye color. I hope you take a moment to understand that your instinct was to discount what’s actually happening. Gross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought it was fine until I heard this first ad: https://youtu.be/2DNyA-6X0cI?si=Ejj_dmDrGaJrpsJy. It’s at a minimum tone deaf for this current era.

I just can’t imagine the leadership of AE didn’t know what they were doing.

Do you remember in the 90s all the brands made these titillating ads that got a lot of air time. Like Abacrombie and the young people? Or all the perfume ads? The difference is that time has really moved on.

[Anonymous]

I legitimately believe that American Eagle is actually pushing the “controversy” angle via PR spin. If you read the articles about this they quote random-ass people on Twitter, who are “outraged” by the ads.

That totally feels like PR planted tweets that then get forwarded along to reporters at the daily mail by American Eagle PR company to write stories about it.

It’s an absolutely fake controversy. The effect of this is to attract eyeballs to American Eagle. This then puts white people on the defensive and draws in men to white night defend Sydney Sweeney. If you look at the American Eagle website, it shows pictures of Sydney Sweeney next to men’s clothing line options. The whole controversy is to get white men stirred up and purchasing items from American Eagle Eagle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I legitimately believe that American Eagle is actually pushing the “controversy” angle via PR spin. If you read the articles about this they quote random-ass people on Twitter, who are “outraged” by the ads.

That totally feels like PR planted tweets that then get forwarded along to reporters at the daily mail by American Eagle PR company to write stories about it.

It’s an absolutely fake controversy. The effect of this is to attract eyeballs to American Eagle. This then puts white people on the defensive and draws in men to white night defend Sydney Sweeney. If you look at the American Eagle website, it shows pictures of Sydney Sweeney next to men’s clothing line options. The whole controversy is to get white men stirred up and purchasing items from American Eagle Eagle.

I will add: I have friends – white men- who are texting about the controversy. It’s got them all riled up and saying “woke people have gone too far this time”. They’re totally falling for it hook, line, and sinker. It’s really devious that they don’t even realize they’re getting manipulated.

[Anonymous]

Well she does have good genes. So do lots of people. People are just looking to make molehills into mountains now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well she does have good genes. So do lots of people. People are just looking to make molehills into mountains now.

It’s not. It’s actually PR people hyping a fake controversy for eyeballs. No one I know IRL is talking about “she has good genes” means eugenics. It’s literally four cherry picked tweets from nobodies that unleashed a flood of articles and hyperventilation about “woke”.

It’s so fake and astroturfed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this ad is a bit tone deaf, but not actually offensive. They could easily just add a couple more pairs of jeans/spokespeople and defuse all of this, so they may go that route.

But people don’t necessarily want that. A lot of people are tired of every add featuring an interracial couple.

Who cares what race she is? She’s objectively hot.

A lot of people were tired of seeing only white people in ads. The younger generation is more multi-ethnic than any past generation.

Correction would be that white people aren't tired of seeing white people in ads. I do emphasize the importance of ads showing a diversity of racial origins given the make up of the US these days. But I also know where others are coming from in that the racial intermixing you see in ads seem exaggerated and even unrealistic. I don't watch much TV or see many ads but when I do see them it does stand out in a weird way, and I live in a pretty diverse area! Blacks are also now over represented in ads relative to their population share, perhaps as to compensate for 50 years ago when they were ignored. But the blacks in ads rarely ever resemble the blacks I see around me and I am in a majority black city, so it's even weirder.

My take on the Sydney Sweeney ad is that it offended people who were specifically looking to be offended. That they are so threatened by this innocent ad does speak volumes about them and their fears, far more so than anything in the ad and its actual impact in real life. My other take is that the jeans don't look great on Sydney. Too baggy. Compared to the 1990s ads she's showing very little skin!