Rabat– In American Eagle’s fall 2025 campaign, Sydney Sweeney describes how “genes are passed from parents to offspring… hair color, personality, even eye color,” then she continues, “my jeans are blue.” 

The narrator then praises her “great genes,” a pun swapped later for “great jeans.” This tongue-in-cheek line went viral, but many viewers heard something far darker. And in case you’re wondering, the slogan only emphasizes that, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” 

Critics argue the wordplay between “genes” and “jeans” leans into racialized beauty standards, especially as Sweeney exemplifies blonde, blue‑eyed white femininity. 

One TikToker called it “fascy (fascist) coded” and “walked straight off of a Nazi propaganda poster,” suggesting the copy echoes eugenic rhetoric. 

Commenters on X compared the ad to Aryan propaganda as one user wrote, “That’s some f***ed Aryan eugenics sh*t.” 

Marketing experts warned this was no innocent pun. Kathy Guillory, a branding strategist, called it “a dog whistle wrapped in denim,” noting, “You are reinforcing centuries of harmful ideas about whose ‘genes’ are worth celebrating.”

Meanwhile, defenders noted the campaign’s glamorous aesthetic and charitable element—100% of proceeds from the “Sydney Jean” collection go to Crisis Text Line, a global nonprofit organization providing free and confidential text-based mental health support and crisis intervention. 

Some also argue critics are overreacting, calling it a harmless homage to early 2000s denim ads.

“Just admit you hate her because she’s attractive and talented and blond and white,” a commenter wrote on X.

What seems like cheeky marketing deployed familiar historical rhetoric by praising “good genes” in a campaign helmed by a white blonde model. 

Critics argue it resurrects exclusionary ideals under the guise of denim. Even a pun, in the wrong hands, can echo centuries of oppression.

Despite controversy, American Eagle’s stock jumped by more than 10% within days, adding hundreds of millions in market value. Analysts attribute the surge to Sweeney’s star power, Gen Z appeal, and meme‑driven retail investor chatter.