Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle Ad Sparks Controversy, Drawing Parallels to Brooke Shields's 1980 Calvin Klein Campaign

A recent American Eagle advertising campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney has ignited a debate online, drawing comparisons to Calvin Klein's controversial 1980 ad starring Brooke Shields. The TikTok video, uploaded by user harrystylesfanpage, juxtaposes clips from both campaigns, arguing that Sweeney's adult participation in a campaign referencing Shields's childhood ad is 'disgusting.'The creator stated, "just to clarify, Brooke was a CHILD who was made to do this. there are reasons we have laws in place now to protect kids from this, but adults like Sydney who are choosing to reference this time like it was 'iconic' is disgusting." The video further claims that "The ONLY thing these campaigns succeed at is appealing to the male gaze at the expense of making their female audience uncomfortable."The American Eagle ad features Sweeney in denim, making playful comments about her 'great jeans,' while the Calvin Klein ad shows a young Brooke Shields delivering suggestive lines about her jeans. Online commentators have expressed mixed reactions, with some agreeing that both ads are inappropriate, while others defend the campaigns as simply 'attention-grabbing' marketing. One user remarked, "It’s so weird bc the second is a 14 YEAR OLD CHILD and A FULL GROWN WOMAN is recreating it…" The discussion has prompted questions about the historical context of advertising, the protection of minors, and the ongoing objectification of women in media.

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Dissecting the differences between the controversial Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad and the popular Katseye Gap jeans ad.