One of the most popular trend forecasters on the Internet, Gabrielle Minoli, claims they fall under a more ominous agenda.
Is anyone else seeing it? There’s a creeping cultural shift happening and Matt Rife and Sydney Sweeney’s ads are the pretty faces being pasted over it.
I’m referring to the conservatism shift. Let me explain before you swipe out. Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ll have probably heard of Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad.
The camera panned over her blonde hair and blue eyes while announcing that the actress had ‘Good Jeans’. The script had many accusing the ad of playing into racism and eugenics, which was only heightened by the revelation that Sydney is reportedly a registered Republican. But while the backlash was intense, the support was counteractively fervorous.
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Donald Trump himself commended the ad as “the hottest ad out there” and American Eagle’s stocks shot up. It seemed like a sort of extreme societal boomerang.
Meanwhile, Matt Rife, a TikTok comedian cursed with good looks (and perhaps cursed for real, given his recent guardianship of America’s ‘most haunted’ toy), featured in an ad for e.l.f Cosmetics. The news was widely met with backlash, largely because of his past controversial jokes around domestic violence – which alienated a portion of his female audience.
Some people have referred to these advertisements as “rage bait,” a technique used to produce offensive or defensive content. After all, everyone is firing up, and it’s obvious that everyone is conversing. But this explanation seems unsatisfactory. Why is the bait pushing the same thing if it’s just rage bait?
After all, while they’ve been probably the most prolific, these ads have not been the only ones inspiring discomfort. Kim Kardashian’s recent SKIMS face wrap ad provoked criticism for its promotion of what some view as an extreme beauty regimen. But it’s hard to believe that Kim Kardashian was simply rage-baiting when cosmetic alterations are part of her brand.
Plus, people have been pointing towards other emerging trends, like clean girl, corporate core and even the princess nails trend as falling in line with a more conservative agenda. In the UK, too, many expressed their dismay online when fast fashion retailer Pretty Little Thing, once known for its ‘bombshell’ night out dresses, decided to transition to a “boring” quiet luxury rebrand.
The most interesting aspect of South Park’s most talked-about season is probably its most interesting. The creators of the iconoclastic cartoon have long prided themselves on breaking taboo and have come under fire before for spreading racist and anti-semitic jokes (among other things). Even they have criticized political correctness’s sudden demise. “Woke is dead,” Eric Cartman said.
We see it in our ads, our fashion, our makeup, even our TV shows. But why and how might businesses be pushing a agenda? What might their ultimate goal be, in addition to that? I spoke to Gabrielle Minoli, an online “anti-forecaster” known by her social media handle as saltlacroix, whose theory Operation B. E. I. G. E has been gaining traction online.
In her own words, B. E. I. G. E. refers to media, trends, and storepable items that are “boring and Engineered to Identify with Gentrification and Eugenics.” While she admits she initially thought the “Eugenics” part of the acronym might be a stretch, “clearly some big brands had other plans with their campaigns this year”.
She’s quick to point out that she’s a comedy content creator and that her channel was founded to satirize various aspects of culture and media. However, she has successfully predicted a number of significant trends over the past few years, and millions of people have already viewed her most recent theory, which documents this conservative shift.
She reveals she first came up with the idea for Operation B. E. I. G. E in 2024, when she noticed a “beige-ification” to the advertisement of popular brands in her hometown LA, such as Chipotle and Barnes and Nobel, which had transitioned towards a more “sterile” aesthetic.
She says, “I knew I wanted to give this shift a name, and I chose something as official as possible because the “diet fascism,” as we’re seeing, feels systemic and increasingly planned… Promoting mediocrity, homogenizing aesthetics, and erasing diversity are key factors.”
Her videos analysing Matt Rife and Sydney Sweeney’s ad campaigns under this lens have gained millions of views across TikTok and Instagram. She explains: “Both campaigns are great examples of what Operation B.E.I.G.E. looks like emboldened. Some have called these campaigns rage bait, and while there could be some truth to that, the real danger is in what major campaigns like these normalise.”
She continues, “Asian Eagle’s campaign with Sydney Sweeney was the first step in letting us know that Sydney Sweeney has “great jeans.” When the male announcer makes this statement in the most popular spot, Sweeney’s blue eyes meet the camera and lands on “jeans.”
” As made explicitly obvious in other campaign assets, we’re meant to consider ‘ genes’, too. In any socio-political environment, but especially one where racial profiling continues to lead to detention and deportation, it’s a bold statement.
She continues, “To be clear, the issue that so many of us have with this campaign is not Sydney Sweeney herself, but the physical characteristics that are lauded as “great,” characteristics that continue to be promoted in eugenics-based propaganda.
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Gabrielle acknowledges that this is “less explicitly B. E. I. G. E. ” in her campaign for e. f., but she does point out that it is”an example of platforming the middle and testing the waters of cisgender, heterosexual men marketing to women. Although it’s not a new phenomenon, it certainly dates back to 1950s advertisements featuring male announcers.
She adds:” Sexism and a return to ‘ traditional ‘ gender roles is certainly B. E. I. G. E. “
According to Gabrielle, Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS ad might also fall under the umbrella of “B. E. I. G. E.” in light of ‘body optimisation,’ which we appear to have entered after years of work in the direction of body positivity.
Many people have rung the alarm on ” Instagram Face,” or the homogeneity of body modifications, but it’s now allegedly as inexpensive and as simple as bandaging your face.
” It feels like the wheels have kind of come off the self-care mobile that gained momentum in 2020, “Gabrielle says”. Are you even a high-value woman if your jaw isn’t positively snatched enough to split a diamond? A word that truly ticks all the right boxes in an acronym like this.
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But, like any operation, there must be an end goal. “I think about [Operation B.E.I.G.E’s end goal] a lot, and do want to acknowledge that there are possibly darker motives that align with certain political goals,” Gabrielle tells me. “So much of it feels like a gradual, calculated response to the great strides we’ve made in terms of diversity, equity, inclusion, and media representation (or “wokeness”). “On the broadest level, I do believe the end goal is for us to stop thinking for ourselves, and to trust that what we’re being served up algorithmically or IRL is what’s best and desirable, even if it’s slop. It’s trending slop, so it must be good! I mentioned AI before, and I strongly believe its normalisation is letting our creativity and critical thinking skills fritter away. The hope seems to be that we’ll lie down, fall in line, and forget how to question what’s in front of us.
” To the benefit of corporations and media execs, we often conflate value and talent with mainstream marketability, and that’s at the heart of Operation B. E. I. G. E. There are fewer and fewer rare gems plucked from obscurity, and far more rocks tumbled to reveal fool’s gold. Alternatively, a cowboy hat and mustache would be on top. They assume we will purchase the ticket, play along, and not notice.
