Sydney Sweeney's previous Fall campaign featured her whispering into the camera: 'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring... ' Critics called the previous ad 'tone-deaf' and 'eugenics-adjacent', with some claiming it sexualised women under the guise of supporting domestic violence awareness. However, some critics said the reaction was overblown.
Eugenics, developed in the late 19th century by Sir Francis Galton and later used to justify discrimination against minority groups and people with disabilities, is now widely condemned. It helped lay the groundwork for how society continues to define beauty and value, and the backlash to Sweeney's ad reignited a wider conversation about beauty standards in marketing. It remains unclear what specific changes were made in the new ad or how American Eagle officially responded to the backlash, and the measurable impact on sales or brand sentiment has not been disclosed.