WARMINGTON: No Sydney Sweeney 'genes' controversy at GTA American Eagle outlet

Article content

It seems there are agitators this week in need of some jean therapy.

Perfect timing because American Eagle and top model Sydney Sweeney just happen to be conducting a clinic on that very thing. And teaching a marketing course and shining light on the race hustling game, too.

No matter what social media might say, there were no Nazis at the store inside the Toronto Premium Outlets Wednesday. We checked.

Nor were there any white supremacists, misogynists, bigots or all out racists. What there was, instead, at the American Eagle location in this poplar shopping spot, were wonderful people of all races, colours, genders, nationalities, ages and economic backgrounds at a business which sells great products with a skillfully worded and presented marketing campaign.

No one seemed to have any issue with this campaign. But the race debate genie is out of the bottle and looking for targets — all because of some slick campaign lines delivered by an actor.

“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour,” is what actress and model Sydney Sweeney said in with a sultry delivery in a commercial spot.

Or did she mean Jeans?

The media transcribed it as genes but maybe that was put in by the ad writers that way on purpose. That’s the brilliance of this campaign’s cheeky play on words.

What is Sweeney did make clear is “my jeans are blue.” And the ones she’s wearing in this ad are as blue as her eyes.

Needless to say, this has whipped up some controversy amongst players who seem to be green with envy.

“For some, who took to social media to object to the campaign, the message seemed to echo the dark legacy of eugenics and ‘Nazi propaganda,’” said one post.

While stories in the Washington Post, Rolling Stone, New York Post and on TMZ had many versions of outrage, including a video from rapper Doja Cat mocking the spots in a redneck twang saying her “jeans are blee,” Marcus Collins, a professor of marketing at the University of Michigan went to Tik Tok to say in the “political and social, cultural backdrop that we’re in right now, that could seem like some pretty bad dog whistling” and “what it communicates to people is that there is a prototypical standard for good genes: white, blond hair, blue eyes.”

Yeah, sure. Somebody better call in the hate police. Seems like the woke mob is rolling once again on its cancel train. But the public does not seem to be biting so far because they know the ad campaign doesn’t communicate any of that.

Recommended video

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

Play Video

If anybody actually went into the American Eagle store they will find similar cool ads for jeans with equally as stunning black models with slogans like they wear “black denim.” There’s nothing racial about that, either. They are in pictures wearing black jeans.

There’s even another meme which has a female with tight fitting jeans with the headline “straight.”

Before anybody dusts off hate crimes legislation, other memes say “baggy” or “curvy” or “skinny.”

People can make words to mean whatever they want them to. But there are still no racists in there. Nobody in that store, people of all backgrounds, seem to be offended by the Sweeney campaign or anything else presented in there.

“I don’t really understand it to be honest,” said Tiffany Geerts, of Woodstock, who came in with her daughter for a day of shopping and fun. “I don’t really know what the outrage is about.”

It’s well said. Nobody does. Well, almost nobody. It’s just internet outrage from people using race to try to bait trouble.

We have seen this mob at work before. But it hasn’t been working so well this time.

There were no signs of Nazis or the KKK at the outlet mall on this day.

Just people who thought it was a cool ad of an attractive model isplaying she has some great jeans.