BUZZ
‘Activates a troubling historical association’ … like the eugenics movement
A professor at New Jersey’s Kean University went on ABC’s morning program to weigh in on the controversy surrounding an American Eagle ad campaign starring blond bombshell Sydney Sweeney.
The various jeans ads show Sweeney engaged in different activities which end with a big logo and voiceover stating “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”
The ad that seems to have elicited the biggest paroxysm of outrage, however, is the one at 00:30 in which Sweeney says “Genes are passed on from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue.”
On ABC’s “Good Morning America” today, the hosts highlighted the “backlash” to the ads, especially the one above. “The play on words is being compared to Nazi propaganda with racial undertones,” declared GMA’s female co-host.
Kean U.’s Robin Landa (pictured), whose areas of expertise include advertising strategy, art direction, and “unique content generation” according to her faculty page, told GMA “Upon good genes? That activates a troubling historical association for this country. The American eugenics movement in its prime between like 1900 and 1940 weaponized the idea of good genes just to justify white supremacism.”
“The blond haired blue eyed actress talks about genes as in DNA being passed down…”
“Nazi propaganda with racial undertones…”
This is Good Morning America. This is ABC News. pic.twitter.com/dmvZjQy0B3
— MAZE (@mazemoore) July 29, 2025
Landa also told Newsweek the Sweeney ads are “tone deaf” and “historically loaded.”
“When major brands use language with such weight, they risk reinforcing harmful ideologies under the guise of clever messaging,” she told the magazine. “Careless wordplay in advertising can help normalize exclusionary beliefs with consequences that extend far beyond product sales.”
Landa advertised both her GMA appearance and Newsweek mention on her 1,500-follower Facebook account:
(Last October, a Newsweek article wondered why conservatives have an “obsession” with attractive women, including Sydney Sweeney. Whom did the mag seek out for answers? Professors.)
In a 2022 article, Kean University described Landa as an “expert in creative advertising, branding, graphic design, and social media,” as well as a “creativity guru.”
On her personal website, Landa says she “champions” her students and “advocate[s] for industry diversity, equity, and inclusion.” She also was the recipient of a Human Rights Educator award.
“GMA” and Newsweek certainly weren’t alone in taking notice of the Sweeney “controversy”:
Despite the backlash (and highlighting thereof), “Good Morning America” ended its segment by noting American Eagle’s stock has been “soaring.”
MORE: College beauty queen takes on haters who say ‘You can’t compete in pageants and be a feminist’
IMAGE CAPTION & CREDIT: “Good Morning America”/X. INTERIOR IMAGES: Robin Landa/Facebook, Stephen L. Miller/X
