Has American Eagle Released a Statement Regarding Its Controversial Marketing Campaign?

If the goal of a particular American Eagle marketing campaign was to get people talking about the brand, it certainly accomplished its goal. But that doesn't mean that the feedback was positive. The popular fashion brand launched a campaign starring Sydney Sweeney, the acclaimed actor from Euphoria. Some members of the public considered the campaign to be controversial due to a double entendre established through Sydney's image.

The commercials featured Sydney talking about her good jeans. The phrase was made to also be interpreted as "good genes," due to the phonetic similarity between the two. Has American Eagle released a statement concerning the backlash to their marketing campaign? Here's what we know about what the company has said regarding their controversial Sydney Sweeney ads.

It's unclear if American Eagle has released a statement regarding their controversial marketing campaign starring Sydney Sweeney. TMZ reported that they had heard from a company spokesperson right after the American Eagle controversy happened, only to clarify that it hadn't been the case later on. The alleged American Eagle employee had supposedly said that the video was "another example of how social media is just not reflective of real life."

There is also a viral "apology" making the rounds that has been attributed to the company, but its authenticity is unconfirmed. It reads, in part, "We sincerely apologize for featuring Sydney Sweeney in our recent advertisement. In hindsight, we underestimated the combined impact of her blue eyes, blond hair, and general hotness."

While American Eagle has not claimed the statement, it also hasn't come out to say it's fake. It appears that American Eagle is ready to let people draw their own conclusions from the commercial. Regardless of what the public thought about the marketing campaign, sales for the brand were down 5 percent when compared to the same time period in 2024, according to ABC. However, TMZ reported that 70 percent of responders to an independent poll found the commercial appealing.

The American Eagle campaign was also launched during the most profitable time in Sydney's career. The actor had been seen in the popular romantic comedy, Anyone But You, after starring in two seasons of HBO's hit teen drama, Euphoria. Sydney had also worked on Madame Web, a superhero story vaguely connected to the Spider-Man mythos. These projects turned Sydney into a desired representative for any brand that could strike a contract with her.

The American Eagle marketing campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney was controversial because of the wordplay established between the phrase "good jeans" and good genes. The company hired a blond, blue-eyed actress for the video. This caused the commercial to be accused of pushing a eugenics narrative.

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The contrast between Sydney Sweeney saying her "blue jeans were good" (like the genes responsible for the color of her eyes) in the midst of a complex political climate in the United States was what sparked the controversy on the internet. The marketing campaign was launched a couple of years after Buzzfeed reported that Sydney had uploaded photographs from a party, where her family could be seen wearing MAGA-inspired merchandise.