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There are two major problems with the (overblown) Sydney Sweeney<\/strong> American Eagle denim ad campaign controversy<\/a>, which has detractors saying it promotes pro-eugenics messaging and Donald Trump<\/strong> saying Sweeney is a babe and a half<\/a>: One is that society can\u2019t seem to find a shred of chill about Sweeney herself, and the other is that the ad is just, well, a goofy mess.<\/p>\n The collective inability to be chill about Sweeney is long documented<\/a>, and she\u2019s long worked through it: In 2022, Sweeney told The Hollywood Reporter<\/em><\/a>, \u201cIf I wanted to take a six-month break, I don\u2019t have income to cover that,\u201d pointing out expenses like a publicist, styling, a mortgage. \u201cIf I just acted, I wouldn\u2019t be able to afford my life in L.A. I take deals because I have to.\u201d And here\u2019s this: a deal. In May, it was soap containing traces of her used bathwater<\/a>. You want a piece of Sweeney? Fine, you can buy it for $8.<\/p>\n As for the discovery that Sweeney is apparently registered in Florida as a Republican as of June 2024, linked to a waterfront address in Summerland Key that was purchased around the same time, well, are you really surprised? This is the same woman who threw a<\/a> hoedown-themed surprise 60th birthday party for her mother in 2022 featuring red, MAGA-style \u201cMake 60 Great Again\u201d hats and attendees with shirts bearing pro-police symbols. Trump, upon discovering that she\u2019s a registered Republican, was thrilled, but in the same way Trump\u2019s thoughts on Taylor Swift<\/strong> are irrelevant to her life and intentions, his ramblings do not give more or less meaning to Sweeney\u2019s denim demolition derby. As Sweeney herself told VF<\/em> last year<\/a>, people \u201cjust create their own idea of who you are. I see that all the time with me.\u201d<\/p>\n Some of the ad\u2019s detractors pointed out the eugenics-flavored problems with a white, blonde woman being congratulated on her \u201cgood genes,\u201d as Sweeney is in the campaign. I see it, certainly, but the more immediate problem is that the campaign\u2019s wave at wordplay\u2014\u201dgenes\u201d and \u201cjeans\u201d sound the same when you say them out loud, get it? Wow!\u2014doesn\u2019t make a lick of sense.<\/p>\n In one campaign video, after giving a two-line summary of traits being passed down genetically<\/a>, Sweeney throatily whispers, \u201cMy jeans are blue.\u201d Yes. They are. And what would blue<\/em> genes even mean? Nothing. If someone can explain, please do.<\/p>\n The ad is a weak imitation of the controversial \u201880s Brooke Shields<\/strong> Calvin Klein ads<\/a>, where the then-15-year-old declared that nothing came between her and her Calvins. Vintage video cameras and grainy filters, that \u201call-American\u201d look of a simple white top and blue jeans, the whole undone perfection thing\u2014the American Eagle clips check all the boxes. It\u2019s not an homage, it\u2019s a retread: The campaign has no self-aware winks to reflect that mindsets may have evolved in the more than four decades since Shields\u2019 time in her Calvins. AE president and creative director Jennifer Foyle<\/strong> characterized the copycat campaign in a July statement<\/a> as \u201ccelebrating what makes our brand iconic\u2014trendsetting denim that leads, never follows.\u201d<\/p>\n Sweeney steps into a vintage car and revs the engine, hot girl in a hot car. In another clip posted to AE\u2019s Instagram feed, she says that her favorite jeans are \u201cprobably a straight leg or a baggy pair.\u201d As she says so, she\u2019s wearing a pair with an exaggerated flare. It\u2019s the lowest of effort on the part of AE.<\/p>\n Likely through no fault of Sweeney\u2019s, the American Eagle ad is a tired take on an outdated idea of Americana. After Trump praised the ad, American Eagle\u2019s stock value soared, once again underlining a mass commitment to basic, antiquated conservative values. Welcome to America, where men are men, women are barefoot babes, and nothing is cooler than a chrome-trimmed car. Cue the bald eagle screech.<\/p>\n In July, AE chief marketing officer Craig Brommers<\/strong> teased the project to WWD<\/em><\/a>, \u200b\u200bsaying, \u201cThe campaign is definitely going to push buttons and have fun, and probably be a little more sensual than we\u2019ve been in recent years\u2014with this underlying optimism and humor that only Sydney Sweeney can bring.\u201d (American Eagle did not respond to Vanity Fair<\/em>‘s request for comment.)<\/p>\n Are the optimism and humor in the room with us now?<\/p>\n Interestingly, a co-branded ultra-wide leg jean<\/a> featuring a large butterfly embroidery on one thigh-butt intersection has a larger cause: All proceeds from that pant\u2019s $89.95 purchase price benefit Crisis Text Line, a group to help victims of domestic violence. This isn\u2019t mentioned in the advertising, and is only called out in small text on the product page.<\/p>\n You might ask, for an item as classic as blue jeans, is there anything new to be done? Actually, yes! Take one look at Beyonc\u00e9<\/strong>\u2019s Levi\u2019s campaign, the fourth installment of which<\/a> just dropped. It\u2019s visually cool, it has a little plot, and she also is hot while wearing jeans. And, in this tale of two denim ads, it\u2019s proof that even though jeans are basic, the way companies sell them doesn\u2019t have to be.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n