In the very same week that Sydney Sweeney and fashion brand American Eagle Outfitters came under fire for straight-up leaning into Nazi propaganda, Dunkin’ Donuts has sparked a similar debate over its latest campaign with The Summer I Turned Pretty star Gavin Casalengno.
In a new campaign for the chain’s summer refresher range, 25-year-old Casalegno can be seen sitting by the edge of a pool with his feet in the water.
“Look, I didn’t ask to be the king of summer. It just kind of happened,” he says to the camera.
“This tan? Genetics. I just got my colour analysis back. Guess what? Golden summer. Literally.”
“I can’t help it. Every time I drink a Dunkin’ Golden Hour Refresher, it’s like the sun just finds me,” he says. “So if sipping these refreshers makes me the king of summer? Guilty as charged.”
In the wake of the American Eagle Outfitters, Casalegno and Dunkin’ have received some backlash with viewers claiming that it promotes white features and positions them as superior.
“Why are ads so obsessed with genetics all of a sudden?” commented one TikToker.
“Who approved this??” wrote another.
“What in the Sydney Sweeney did I just watch?” asked a commenter.
Truthfully, the campaign phrasing is almost nonsensical. While it lightly references the summer-based series Casalegno stars in, it feels like the campaign is really trying to fit a square peg in a round hole by referencing colour theory (something TikTok became obsessed with last year) and Dunkin’s product.
To make matters a bit worse, Casalegno has previously copped scrutiny for appearing to support conservative values. Back in 2023, fans noticed that he liked a tweet on X (formerly Twitter) which held anti-feminist and anti-vax sentiments. Fans also claimed that he liked a transphobic video by controversial psychologist Jordan Peterson.
#TheSummerITurnedPretty actor Gavin Casalegno trends after liking anti-feminist and pro anti-vaxx Instagram post:
“When you find out she’s unvaxxed, not a feminist, loves the Lord, and aspires to be a wife, mother and homemaker.” pic.twitter.com/f76QARWqwC
— Pop Faction (@PopFactions) October 17, 2023
While some people claim that it’s a reach to claim that Dunkin’ or American Eagle Outfitters campaigns are promoting eugenics, both campaigns have been released in an era where conservatism in America is on the rise.
Both Casalegno and Sweeney have found themselves as pseudo-representatives of the far right, whether that has been their intention or not. Even if the brands never intended to send out white supremacist values in their campaigns, audiences feel that the use of two white, blue-eyed individuals discussing “good genes” and genetics is loaded.
“There’s a message about mutable identity there,” said Washington Post reporter Shane O’Neill.
“And that could be extended into a vision of America as a place where you’re NOT bound by who you are at birth. But they went the full opposite of that.”
Some factions of the internet believe that the brands never considered what further implications the campaigns could have. Whereas the leading theory is that the messaging was an intentional move to garner attention.
According to Lauren Meisner, journalist and founder of Gen Z podcast network Centennial World, using Sweeney in the campaign sends a particular message.
“Her image doesn’t exist in a vacuum, especially right now. It carries political weight whether she wants it to or not,” Meisner wrote in the Keep Scrolling For newsletter.
“As a brand, you can’t release a campaign without considering the cultural context in which it was created and how that cultural context may influence the reception of your campaign.”
Considering how many goddamn meetings must have happened before both campaigns went live, it’s a pretty big fumble, if you ask me.
