Genes or Jeans? A Peircean Semiotic Analysis of Co-Occurrence and Dual Interpretation in the “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” Advertisement

Amanda, Mila and Sulaeman, Dedi and Sakinah, R. Myrna Nur (2026) Genes or Jeans? A Peircean Semiotic Analysis of Co-Occurrence and Dual Interpretation in the “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” Advertisement. Jurnal LINGUA SUSATRA, 7 (1). pp. 233-246. ISSN 2746-704X

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Abstract

ENGLISH: This study examines how co-occurring sign processes in an advertisement generate multiple interpretations. The object of analysis is the “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” advertisement released by American Eagle in July 2025. The advertisement attracted widespread public attention because it gave rise to two publicly documented interpretations: a commercial interpretation confirmed by the brand and a biological interpretation associated with eugenics discourse reported in news media. Drawing on Peirce's trichotomies and Bateman's account of co occurring sign-processes, this study analyzes the verbal and visual elements across four selected segments using a descriptive qualitative approach. The findings show that the ambiguity does no result from the combination or blending of different sign categories into a single sign. Rather, it arises from the co-occurrence of distinct verbal and visual sign-processes in which the phonetic qualisign /dʒiːnz/ is realized as a spoken sinsign capable of instantiating two competing symbolic legisigns, “genes” and “jeans”. These sign-processes enable divergent dynamic interpretants to develop simultaneously. INDONESIA: Penelitian ini mengkaji bagaimana co-occurring sign-processes dalam sebuah iklan menghasilkan berbagai interpretasi. Objek penelitian adalah iklan “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” yang dirilis oleh American Eagle pada Juli 2025. Iklan tersebut menarik perhatian luas karena memunculkan dua interpretasi yang terdokumentasi secara publik, yaitu interpretasi komersial yang dikonfirmasi oleh merek dan interpretasi biologis yang dikaitkan dengan wacana eugenika sebagaimana diberitakan oleh media. Dengan menggunakan trikotomi Peirce dan konsep cooccurring sign-processes dari Bateman, penelitian ini menganalisis elemen verbal dan visual pada empat segmen terpilih melalui pendekatan deskriptif kualitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ambiguitas tersebut tidak muncul akibat penggabungan atau peleburan kategori tanda yang berbeda ke dalam satu tanda. Sebaliknya, ambiguitas muncul melalui co-occurrence proses-proses tanda verbal dan visual yang berbeda, di mana fonetik qualisign /dʒiːnz/ ketika diucapkan secara konkret berfungsi sebagai sinsign yang mampu menginstansiasi dua legisigns yang saling bersaing, yaitu “genes” dan “jeans”. Proses-proses tanda tersebut memungkinkan terbentuknya dynamic interpretants yang berbeda secara simultan.

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