Is the American Eagle/Sydney Sweeney "good genes/jeans" ad outrage authentic or PR-generated?

clovenhooves The Personal Is Political General Article Is the American Eagle/Sydney Sweeney "good genes/jeans" ad outrage authentic or PR-generated?

Article Is the American Eagle/Sydney Sweeney "good genes/jeans" ad outrage authentic or PR-generated?

Article Is the American Eagle/Sydney Sweeney "good genes/jeans" ad outrage authentic or PR-generated?

Elsacat

493

Aug 2 2025, 8:10 AM

#1

I wasn't sure where to put this latest pet conspiracy theory of mine, but here goes: Am I the only one who wonders if American Eagle engineered the whole flap around the Sydney Sweeney "good jeans/genes" ads? I've suspected for a while that the outrage about that may not have been authentic and may have been PR-planted as a way to get publicity, and also to drive sales by getting people to take sides against each other. People love to either boycott to own the right/left/libs/woketards/fascists/etc. and I can easily picture a big clothing company hoping to take advantage of the current tide of right-wing culture by giving them a reason to buy American Eagle to "own the libs." Or giving people on the left a reason to buy American Eagle so right-wingers are embarrassed to buy or wear it.

If any of what I suspect is true, you know who wins either way? American Eagle. Some might say Sydney Sweeney wins too, but I'm not sure this is going to benefit her in the long run and American Eagle seems happy enough to throw her to the wolves.

Elsacat

Aug 2 2025, 8:10 AM #1

I wasn't sure where to put this latest pet conspiracy theory of mine, but here goes: Am I the only one who wonders if American Eagle engineered the whole flap around the Sydney Sweeney "good jeans/genes" ads? I've suspected for a while that the outrage about that may not have been authentic and may have been PR-planted as a way to get publicity, and also to drive sales by getting people to take sides against each other. People love to either boycott to own the right/left/libs/woketards/fascists/etc. and I can easily picture a big clothing company hoping to take advantage of the current tide of right-wing culture by giving them a reason to buy American Eagle to "own the libs." Or giving people on the left a reason to buy American Eagle so right-wingers are embarrassed to buy or wear it.

If any of what I suspect is true, you know who wins either way? American Eagle. Some might say Sydney Sweeney wins too, but I'm not sure this is going to benefit her in the long run and American Eagle seems happy enough to throw her to the wolves.

Colibri

73

Aug 2 2025, 8:30 AM

#2

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if they engineered it. I haven’t even seen the ad but still see it mentioned everywhere.

Colibri

Aug 2 2025, 8:30 AM #2

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if they engineered it. I haven’t even seen the ad but still see it mentioned everywhere.

Colibri

73

Aug 9 2025, 10:48 AM

#3

So it seems it was largely manufactured by right-winger influencers.

How the Right Shaped the Debate Over the Sydney Sweeney Ads
https://archive.ph/iYCzA

Quote:Criticism of the ad campaign had come almost entirely from a smattering of accounts with relatively few followers, according to an analysis of social media data by The New York Times. Conversation about the ad did not escalate online or in traditional media until days later, after right-leaning influencers, broadcasters and politicians began criticizing what they described as a wave of progressive outrage.

In fact, by the time right-wing users were in an uproar, only a few thousand posts on X mentioned Ms. Sweeney, according to data by Tweet Binder, a social media analytics company. Fewer than 10 percent of those expressed clear criticism of the actress or ad, according to the analysis by The Times, which used artificial intelligence to help flag posts for review. Overall, there were three times as many posts supportive of the campaign and Ms. Sweeney on X as there were posts critical of them in the days after the campaign began, the analysis by The Times showed...

The political right has become particularly adept at this tactic, cognizant of the way that tapping into hot-button cultural issues can stoke popular anger not just against progressive ideas but against the Democratic Party itself. In the case of the American Eagle ads, the one-sided discourse also appears to have provoked an actual debate: Left-leaning criticism of the campaign rose considerably after the topic gained traction on the right.

“Republicans are going to just keep hammering this because they know that they can find 13 teenagers on TikTok to say something crazy and then turn it into a two-week-long news story,” said Ryan Broderick, the author of Garbage Day, a newsletter about internet culture.

This guy does a bit of analysis on right-wingers using this strategy and cancel culture.
https://x.com/mattsheffield/status/1953601334508499116

And Grok agrees. For whatever that’s worth.
https://x.com/grok/status/1953828457890427113

Colibri

Aug 9 2025, 10:48 AM #3

So it seems it was largely manufactured by right-winger influencers.

How the Right Shaped the Debate Over the Sydney Sweeney Ads
https://archive.ph/iYCzA

Quote:Criticism of the ad campaign had come almost entirely from a smattering of accounts with relatively few followers, according to an analysis of social media data by The New York Times. Conversation about the ad did not escalate online or in traditional media until days later, after right-leaning influencers, broadcasters and politicians began criticizing what they described as a wave of progressive outrage.

In fact, by the time right-wing users were in an uproar, only a few thousand posts on X mentioned Ms. Sweeney, according to data by Tweet Binder, a social media analytics company. Fewer than 10 percent of those expressed clear criticism of the actress or ad, according to the analysis by The Times, which used artificial intelligence to help flag posts for review. Overall, there were three times as many posts supportive of the campaign and Ms. Sweeney on X as there were posts critical of them in the days after the campaign began, the analysis by The Times showed...

The political right has become particularly adept at this tactic, cognizant of the way that tapping into hot-button cultural issues can stoke popular anger not just against progressive ideas but against the Democratic Party itself. In the case of the American Eagle ads, the one-sided discourse also appears to have provoked an actual debate: Left-leaning criticism of the campaign rose considerably after the topic gained traction on the right.

“Republicans are going to just keep hammering this because they know that they can find 13 teenagers on TikTok to say something crazy and then turn it into a two-week-long news story,” said Ryan Broderick, the author of Garbage Day, a newsletter about internet culture.

This guy does a bit of analysis on right-wingers using this strategy and cancel culture.
https://x.com/mattsheffield/status/1953601334508499116

And Grok agrees. For whatever that’s worth.
https://x.com/grok/status/1953828457890427113

Chernobog

33

Aug 9 2025, 11:51 AM

#4

Kind of unsurprised if the outrage was fabricated, as those of us who have not given up on covid precautions have all been pointing out, the left doesn't have a leg to stand on criticising what is, at worst, a garden variety bit of in-poor-taste, tongue in cheek dogwhistle advertising when their attitude about an ongoing pandemic that's actually being used to eugenicist ends has been ignorantly dismissive to openly hostile.

Also it's so funny when the republicans go hard on some "the left hates beautiful wamen1!11!!" line. Someone else will have to do the analysis legwork there, it's just so goofy-coomery I'm too busy giggling.

Chernobog

Aug 9 2025, 11:51 AM #4

Kind of unsurprised if the outrage was fabricated, as those of us who have not given up on covid precautions have all been pointing out, the left doesn't have a leg to stand on criticising what is, at worst, a garden variety bit of in-poor-taste, tongue in cheek dogwhistle advertising when their attitude about an ongoing pandemic that's actually being used to eugenicist ends has been ignorantly dismissive to openly hostile.

Also it's so funny when the republicans go hard on some "the left hates beautiful wamen1!11!!" line. Someone else will have to do the analysis legwork there, it's just so goofy-coomery I'm too busy giggling.

Elsacat

493

Aug 9 2025, 4:03 PM

#5

I wouldn't say I'm glad to know I was correct, but something did seem weirdly inauthentic and manufactured about the "outrage." My assumption was that American Eagle was paying some left-wing influencers to stir the pot, but I wouldn't be surprised if instead they paid the right-wing influencers who were hyping up the nonexistent "outrage."

Elsacat

Aug 9 2025, 4:03 PM #5

I wouldn't say I'm glad to know I was correct, but something did seem weirdly inauthentic and manufactured about the "outrage." My assumption was that American Eagle was paying some left-wing influencers to stir the pot, but I wouldn't be surprised if instead they paid the right-wing influencers who were hyping up the nonexistent "outrage."

Recently Browsing
1 Guest(s)

Recently Browsing
1 Guest(s)