From Jeans to Eugenics: The Ad That Shows Why DEI Training Matters

When fashion stumbles, it doesn’t just hurt a brand; it exposes how quickly companies can drift from the values they claim to uphold. American Eagle’s new Sydney Sweeney campaign—anchored by the pun “Great Jeans/Great Genes”—has sparked a wave of backlash not just for being tone-deaf, but for invoking something far more dangerous: eugenics.

ID: A woman with long, straight blonde hair is lying on her side in a relaxed pose against a simple, neutral-toned background. She is wearing a matching denim outfit consisting of a fitted button-up jacket with a deep neckline and wide-leg jeans. Her gaze is directed toward the camera with a calm, confident expression. One arm rests along her waist while the other supports her upper body slightly off the ground. The overall aesthetic is clean, modern, and fashion-forward.

Ok, What Happened?

In the ad, Sydney Sweeney smiles into the camera while highlighting “inherited traits” like her blue eyes and blonde hair before saying, “My jeans are blue.” On paper, this looks like simple wordplay. In practice, it was interpreted by audiences as a celebration of genetic superiority.

The backlash came quickly. TikTok creators and culture critics pointed out that focusing on “good genes,” when paired with an image of a conventionally attractive, thin, blonde, blue-eyed woman, is not a neutral move. Eugenics is a term with a long and harmful history: a discredited pseudo-science that argued certain races and traits—blonde hair, blue eyes, lighter skin—should be privileged to “improve” humanity. These ideas were not abstract. They shaped immigration laws, forced sterilization programs in North America, and were central to the ideology of Nazi Germany.

So when Sweeney, a celebrity who has already been criticized for a family party featuring MAGA-style hats, smiles and says, “My jeans are blue,” it lands as a wink toward a legacy of exclusion.

How Did This Happen?

How does a campaign like this make it through multiple levels of review?

This is not the first time a major brand has ended up here. Consider the infamous “Bumble Fumble” in 2023. That campaign, meant to “empower” single women, used a series of tongue-in-cheek taglines about loneliness that instead came across as mocking, tone-deaf, and cruel.

The root problem is the same: insular creative processes and leadership bubbles. When there are no systems in place to check for bias, clever wordplay passes through as if context doesn’t matter. A pun looks safe, even fresh. But there’s no one in the room with the training or authority to say: “Hold on. Let’s think about the history of what we’re saying.”

AE’s Commitment vs. Reality

American Eagle’s official stance on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) is clear. Their own website declares:

“We strive to build an inclusive culture that celebrates individuality and values diverse perspectives.”

That mission, however, feels hollow when contrasted with the company’s executive leadership team, which is overwhelmingly white. Critics online have been quick to share screenshots of AE’s leadership page, asking how much the company’s IDEA commitments truly inform creative decisions when the decision-makers themselves largely come from the same backgrounds.

It’s worth noting that representation alone would not have prevented this. Diverse faces at the table don’t help much if everyone in the room has been socialized to ignore certain harms. This is where foundational anti-oppressive practice and DEI training come in—not as window dressing, but as a professional competency.

Why This Ad Is Problematic

This campaign uses race-based framing. It elevates physical traits historically tied to whiteness, genetic purity, and desirability. For those familiar with the history, it feels less like a light pun and more like a celebration of an ideal that has been violently weaponized.

Sweeney, despite her own appeal to a broad fan base, is not a neutral figure here. Last year, her family drew criticism when photos surfaced of a birthday party featuring MAGA-style hats, a symbol that has come to represent exclusion and racism for many Americans. That context matters when you cast a brand ambassador—and AE’s young, diverse customer base knows it.

How could this have been fixed? Remove the genetic language entirely. Focus on the product, the clothes, and inclusive storytelling. Involve trained cultural advisors early on. Stop trying to be clever without a clear understanding of the harm that can be caused. The list goes on and on and on.

Why DEI Training Matters More Than Ever

This backlash isn’t just about a single ad. It’s a case study in why DEI programs are not just ethical priorities—they are risk management.

We’re in a moment where many companies are quietly cutting DEI budgets or relegating inclusion to a checkbox. This controversy is a reminder of what happens when you do that. Clever creative without cultural literacy is like driving blindfolded: eventually, you’re going to crash.

DEI training teaches people how to see what they’ve been taught not to notice. It gives teams a language and a process for recognizing risk before it becomes a crisis. It helps leaders understand how cultural power dynamics shape the meaning of words, images, and partnerships.

How Core DEI Training Could Have Prevented This

If a team had been through Bloom’s foundational DEI sessions, this ad concept likely wouldn’t have survived its earliest stages. Workshops like Systems of Oppression, Anti-Racism at Work, Exploring Anti-Black Racism, or our Inclusive Marketing and Communications program are specifically designed to build capacity to notice harm, examine bias in ideas, and understand the history that shapes language and imagery.

These sessions give decision-makers the confidence to ask better questions: What narratives are we amplifying? Who does this exclude? How does this land outside of our bubble? With that level of awareness, a concept like “Great Genes” would have been flagged before it ever became a storyboard or a pitch from an external agency.

The Larger Lesson

Scaling back DEI isn’t just a cultural misstep—it’s bad business. Consumers haven’t moved on from caring about values. If anything, they’re watching more closely. For brands, the takeaway is simple: DEI is no longer optional. It’s the difference between building campaigns that resonate and becoming the next cautionary tale.

P.S. If you’re reading this and thinking “yikes, this could have been us,” that’s your sign. This is exactly the kind of reputational nightmare our work at Bloom helps teams avoid. If you want to talk about building cultural awareness and anti-oppressive muscles on your team—before a campaign like this ends up on TikTok for all the wrong reasons—reach out.

And if anyone from AE’s executive team is reading? Our inbox is open. We promise we won’t make you sit through another pun about “genes.”