Opinion : Before there was American Eagle, there was Lee

It seems that my eyeballs are on the permanent eye roll setting. The latest was the attempt to make the American Eagle brand into some sort of branch of the Nazis. I'll be honest, when anyone now labels anyone a "Nazi," I yawn. Unfortunately, the connotation of what a real Nazi is has been diluted with the schoolyard name-calling that has been going on.

There are many unhinged clips of people, mostly in their 20s and 30s, who are losing their ever-loving minds over the Sidney Sweeney American Eagle ad. They've been fed some malarky, a favorite word of the former president when it comes to history, and that's not hyperbole. Of course, to say you are a proud American brings out all the loonies, and American Eagle did that just by having a successful ad campaign. The last I heard, the fans of capitalism at American Eagle made a whopping $21 million off of their "controversial" ad..

I know that these screaming adults don't know what a Nazi is, so I'm guessing that they don't understand the play on words, jeans (a pair of pants) vs. genes (your DNA).

Now, I have found Sidney Sweeney annoying. Mostly because I had no idea who she was or if it was some made-up persona that I'd seen come across my YouTube or Facebook feeds. And quite frankly, my dear, I didn't give a damn.

It reminds me of the 80s. In the days of yore, ads with hot girls were always a thing. In my era, Brooke Shields was the gal making the jeans ads. Thanks to American Eagle, well, Sweeney can walk into "Cheers" and "everybody knows her name."

The pearl-clutching has gone bonkers. We have gotten so used to the idea that fat cells. sell. I suppose they do, only to those of us in that fat category. However, now that good advertising seems to be making a comeback, some of us have to meltdown over it.

A few years ago, a pantless Mike Rowe along with his mom and dad made an ad for Lee jeans. Mike shared a story about his commercial for the Lee jeans. At the time, it was made to help fight breast cancer, and the genes that go with it. Mike said the following.

"Long before the Nazis at American Eagle began promoting Adolf Hitler and The Master Race in a series of commercials celebrating "good genes," (with a little help from a hot model wearing some "good jeans,") I was doing the same thing for another famous denim provider with millions of white customers. I refer, of course, to the bigots over at Lee Jeans, who asked me to help them raise some money in the fight against breast cancer, in a way that would resonate with white supremacists everywhere. In my role of "Celebrity Ambassador," they wanted me to appear in a PSA that announced some very promising research involving gene therapy, and then, ask Americans to forego the purchase of another pair of blue jeans they probably didn't need, and instead, donate the cost of those jeans to The American Cancer Society. I said sure, but only if I could do so in a way that involved my mother - a proud white supremacist and breast cancer survivor who taught me all I know about eugenics. Well, the bigots at Lee Jeans agreed, and the attached PSA quickly found its way onto the airwaves fourteen years ago. In it, you'll see me without my pants on, flaunting my genes in a way that would have made The Fuhrer proud. In other words, doing the exact same thing The New York Times and MSNBC have accused Sydney Sweeney of doing. Accusations that have led to an unprecedented level of free publicity that's turned Sydney Sweeney into a household name, and American Eagle into the latest Wall Street darling. Perhaps, had the mainstream media been this diligent in 2011, we'd have raised enough money to cure the damn disease once and for all."
I'm not sure, but I think Mike has had it up to "here" with the nonsense, too. So here's to American Eagle and Sidney Sweeney and the advertising department who is out there making advertising great again. Bring back the hot chicks, real men, recreate some sports cars and give us those Clydesdales, not just at Super Bowl time, but all year long.
For your watching enjoyment, here's the Lee jeans ad with Mike Rowe and his parents, you'll chuckle. Warning, pants are optional.

Click here to see Mike Rowe