Paz Toma

American Eagle and Gap denim shorts are compared as they lay side-by-side. Both brands were compared this summer for their collaboration campaigns, advertisement style and their products.

Denim, discrimination, and dance. These three, very different topics came together after two denim advertisements went viral this summer. American Eagle’s campaign with actress from “Euphoria”, “Anyone But You”, and “Immaculate”, Sydney Sweeney, led to accusations of racism while Gap’s collaboration with girl group, KATSEYE, was admired for its dance. Although both went viral, Gap’s campaign has the more important message: celebrate diversity.

In the American Eagle advertisement, blonde, blue-eyed Sweeney explains how genes work and then an unidentified speaker says: “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” Since the context was about “genes,” suddenly switching to “jeans” highlights their same exact pronunciation, leading to the statement sounding like: “Sydney Sweeney has great genes,” a message that implies that her European genes are desirable. Beauty standards tend to be modeled after European features, such as upturned noses, light eyes, and blonde hair, and this advertisement, whether on purpose or not, supports this idea.

“We have a conventionally attractive white woman speaking about how her genes are… basically making it sound like hers are superior to other people who might have different genes. Like, just because I might be a person of color, my genes are less than hers. That’s how she made it sound,” freshman Niahmaya Kerch said.

Although American Eagle has stated that the advertisement “is and always was about the jeans,” it is too easy to interpret it differently. Professor of marketing at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, Marcus Collins, explains that even if racism was not the intended message, American Eagle has to realize their audience can view it that way.

“The idea here is that for some they see just a sexy ad. To others, they see a reframing of what makes for good genes… The truth of the matter is that it’s both,” Collins said in an interview with Cable News Network (CNN), an American multinational news media company. 

The controversy could have been avoided if it included different races, the message then praising the genes of each unique person. They could have just removed the pun and focused on the sensual appeal because it is true, Sweeney is a beautiful woman. Nevertheless, American Eagle intentionally chose to take this route.

Through the wordplay between the words “jeans” and “genes,” American Eagle promotes the practice of eugenics. According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, an organization established since 1989 that researches deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), eugenics “is the scientifically inaccurate theory that humans can be improved through selective breeding of populations.”

Now, the advertisement is being used as a political tool, and conservative politicians are using it to promote the Republican party and criticize liberals.

According to an article published by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the United Kingdom’s public service broadcaster, in an interview, President Donald Trump supported the advertisement after hearing Sweeney was a registered Republican.

“If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic,” Trump stated.

Many conservatives have reframed the anger towards the advertisement as unjustified hate towards innocent, white women. For example, Texas senator Ted Cruz believes that it is a leftist agenda to attack Sweeney for being beautiful.

“Wow. Now the crazy Left has come out against beautiful women,” Cruz stated on X, according to CNN.

The issue here is not the fact that Sweeney is a beautiful woman, it is the fact that the advertisement implies that she is attractive because she is white. People of color are offended because this advertisement suggests that their DNA is inferior to European DNA. 

For example, the article by Manuela López Restrepo, Mia Venkat, Juana Summers and William Troop, published in the National Public Radio (NPR), an American public broadcasting organization, explains the reaction of the public.

“Immediately after Sweeney’s campaign went live, many on social media noted that they felt the language behind the ad felt promotional of eugenics and expressed discomfort and disdain,” the article stated. 

In the context of a world that has racist history, this campaign is extremely inappropriate.

“I saw the American Eagle ad first, and obviously I was like, what is she talking about? …And then the whole mention of the offspring, like, it’s a jean ad. Why are you talking about genetics? That’s weird,” Kerch said.

The Guardian, a global news organization, states that Adolf Hitler passed the Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring, which resulted in the forced sterilization of around 400,000 people under the practice of eugenics. Furthermore, The 19th, a nonprofit news organization that reports on policy, states that “In the early 1900s, dozens of U.S. states passed laws that legalized the forced sterilization of those deemed unfit to procreate. These procedures largely affected poor women, women of color, LGBTQ+ people and those with physical or developmental disabilities.” Therefore, there is a history of eugenics hurting minority groups, so suggesting this practice in the advertisement is very offensive.

In contrast, the Gap advertisement highlights diversity.

The six members of KATSEYE: Daniela, Lara, Manon, Megan, Sophia and Yoonchae, dance in full denim outfits to “Milkshake” by artist Kelis. The Represent Asian Project, a platform dedicated to appreciating the Asian community, states that KATSEYE’s members’ ethnicities include Filipina, Swiss, Italian, Ghanian, Venezuelan, Cuban, Indian, Chinese, Singaporean and South Korean. In addition to the diverse group, the background dancers were all of different races and genders.

“Well, I feel like denim in general is just for everybody to wear, you know? Like, there’s no specific target audience, but I guess they were trying to highlight other ethnic minority groups,” senior Cristian Lazo said.

The reality is that many young girls grow up seeing only actresses like Sweeney and develop the belief that she is the only form of beauty.

It is much rarer for people of color to be represented in mainstream media, especially south Asians. Lara, in the Gap advertisement, with her dark skin, nose ring and bindi, shows other girls that they can and deserve to be in the media. 

“It’s for more of a broad general audience instead of like the one for American Eagle with Sydney Sweeney,” sophomore Jenaya Foster said.

Additionally, the advertisement’s dance reached success on Tiktok. According to Forbes, the campaign’s name “Better in Denim” was the number one search on Tiktok the week the advertisement was published and over 50,000 people have participated in the dance trend. Online viewers have been praising the members’ beauty, dancing and denim.

By dancing, they prove their denim is comfortable and easy to move in. They also make sure customers associate a fun and confident attitude with their brand. For example, CEO of the marketing agency Invisible Dynamics, Oli Walsh, stated that “Dance is one of the most unifying art forms. It’s visual, emotional, kinetic.” 

“And the Gap ad, it was just alluring… And then the fact that there’s an actual group dancing and the music, it was just more captivating,” Kerch said.

American Eagle was profitable because according to Brand Vision, an award winning marketing company, their stock rose around 33% on Sept. 4, the jacket and jeans in the advertisement sold out and they received 790,000 new customers. 

However, if the price of success is spreading racist messages, it is not worth it. This advertisement, in an attempt to get more sales, has been creating tension and conflict within our communities. If it was unintentional, society must be educated to make sure no one is ignorant to the issues people face.

Companies need to be more like Gap. Brand Vision also states that Gap had a $1.7 million earned media value, their KATSEYE hoodie sold out and store visits went up 8.5% in the first full week after the advertisement was published. While having financial success, they also send out the idea that their jeans are good and look amazing on people of all races and genders.

Diversity in mainstream media should be normalized, not something people have to applaud because it is so rare. This world is very diverse, and society should include and celebrate the unique traits of everyone. Gap has helped this cause by taking a step forward in this direction, hopefully others can follow.

For more information for photo credits for first picture: File:American Eagle “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” advertisement campaign in-store.jpg

For more information for photo credits for second picture: File:Gap & Old Navy Times Square NYC landscape.jpg