SHANNON MILLER: 'Great genes isn't just cheeky branding, it echoes a dangerous past'

When Sydney Sweeney's Good Genes American Eagle ad popped up on my feed, I couldn't help but feel this ad was more than just a play on words.

In what Donald Trump is calling the "the hottest ad out there", the blonde hair blued eyed Euphoriastar is dressed in double denim. Deadpan, she says: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality, and even eye colour. My jeans are blue.” A voiceover follows: “Sydney Sweeney has great genes.”

Elsewhere, billboard show Sydney lounging in her Canadian tuxedo with the words: “Sydney Sweeney has great genes.” The word “genes” is crossed out and replaced with “jeans.”

The backlash has been loud. Some people praised it as a ‘clever’ bit of wordplay, nothing to be offended by. But I see it as a nod to the eugenics ideology, the belief that the human race could be “improved” by promoting certain traits - traits historically tied to whiteness. Let me be clear: There’s nothing great about recycling a slogan that sounds like it’s been lifted from eugenics for dummies.

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Eugenics, developed in the late 19th century by Sir Francis Galton, comes from a Greek word meaning "well-born". It was rooted in selective breeding - controlling which humans were deemed "fit" to reproduce based on physical or intellectual traits. That belief system would go on to justify horrific discrimination against people with disabilities and minority groups. Although now widely condemned, its impact still shapes how we define beauty and worth.

Whether or not the brand meant to spark backlash is beside the point - the impact it has to society can't be undone. When you really consider the words “Sydney Sweeney has great genes,” it echoes the language and visuals we’ve seen before.

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For example, the Nazi-era Flemish recruitment poster is chillingly familiar to the modern day jeans ad. A smiling blonde woman leans into a wheat field, with a soft-toned message urging “Flemish girls” to assist German farmer’s wives. But the message is clear - this is the ideal Aryan woman. Blonde, blue-eyed and "obedient." Appearing wholesome but hiding a dangerous standard.

Or look at the 1930s U.S. magazine Physical Culture cover asking: “Shall We Breed or Sterilize Defectives?” under a glamorised drawing of a lighter skinned woman. Marketed as lifestyle content, it sent a clear message: beauty and value are inherited, and those who don’t meet that ideal don’t deserve the same rights including the right to exist or even reproduce.

When I compare all three, the Sydney Sweeney ad feels the most blatant. There’s nothing to decode. It’s bold, it’s polished, and it hits exactly the right nerve to go viral. For American Eagle, the rage bait has paid off, as their stock skyrocketed 28 percent in premarket trading after an $85 million operating loss in Q1, this year, according to INC.

I can't help but think the boom American Eagle have experienced off the back of this ad is less about the pretty woman fronting the campaign, and more because it aligned with the values of a growing and vocal, conservative crowd.

As debate erupted on TikTok, one viral video says: “If you’re not media illiterate, you probably think this is harmless. However, this perpetuates a long line of racism and eugenics that has been present in not just America but all over the world.”

“In the extremely conservative climate we’re in today where right-wing, white nationalism and patriotism is rising, this advert is a dog whistle to the racists out there, confirming their way of thinking and way of life is correct.”

But what unsettles me the most is how quick people are to invalidate the message. I've seen messages that claim the advert is "not that deep" and simply "clever marketing". While I can't deny the wordplay is clever, I think this language, imagery and political landscape that we're currently in rubs salt in the wound.

It echoes a history where desirability was tied to race, “purity,” and who society deemed “naturally beautiful” and, more dangerously, who they believed deserved to reproduce. That is "deep".

It's difficult to ignore Sydney's political alignment, too. Her family wearing 'MAGA' style hats reading 'Make 60 great again,' which left fans questioning her political stance and more recently, Florida Department of State records confirmed Sydney registered as a Republican voter in Monroe County on June 14, 2024.

Ultimately, this isn’t about competitiveness or women tearing women down. It’s about holding brands and those in the public eye accountable - especially when they play into dangerous ideologies, intentionally or otherwise.

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