Sydney Sweeney was all for making a statement with her American Eagle campaign.
“During a Zoom call with Sydney, we asked the question, ‘How far do you want to push it?’ Without hesitation, she smirked and said, ‘Let’s push it, I’m game,’” Ashley Schapiro, the brand’s vice president of marketing, media, performance and engagement, recently wrote in a lengthy LinkedIn post. “Our response? ‘Challenge Accepted.’”
According to Schapiro, Sweeney’s “sentiment guided every frame, every stitch and every unexpected twist” of the advertising campaign.
“Infusing our own personal cheeky energy and making us as we envisioned how the world would experience the launch,” Schapiro wrote. “A desire to stretch beyond anything we had done before. The ideas kept building. The stunts topping themselves. Exploring media innovation that could feel like it was invented just for Syd’s Jeans?”
Why Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Great Jeans’ American Eagle Ad Is Facing Backlash
Sweeney, 27, was named the new face of AE earlier in July, kicking off the brand’s fall 2025 campaign with a nod to its denim heritage. After a marketing visual dropped online, a handful of social media users condemned the actress’ overtly sexual behavior onscreen.
“My body’s composition is determined by my genes,” Sweeney said as a camera panned up and down her body. “Hey, eyes up here.”
A narrator’s voice then chimed in, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”
Others, meanwhile, alleged that the campaign promotes eugenics, a discredited belief associated with white supremacy regarding the improvement of human genetics.
“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue,” Sweeney said in another ad campaign, punning on the words “jeans” and “genes.”
Gabby Windey Calls Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle Jeans Ad ‘Terrifying’
While Sweeney has not addressed the campaign backlash, she did praise the brand partnership in a statement earlier this month.
“Their commitment to creating pieces that make you feel confident and comfortable in your own skin is something that resonates with me,” Sweeney said at the time. “It’s rare to find a brand that grows with you, the way American Eagle has for generations. They have literally been there with me through every version of myself.”
The AE team, for its part, has also been proud of the viral campaign.
“The star power of Sydney and the double meaning behind the campaign has a culture-shaping power beyond anything I could have ever imagined being a part of — just check your social feeds,” Schapiro concluded her social media post.
The campaign, according to Schapiro, also included a “playful stunt double,” “AI try-on” technology, 3D billboards and collaborating with Sweeney’s stylist, Molly Dickson, “whose special touch shaped every look.”
