When American Eagle Outfitters’ denim campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney was released, the internet went wild over it. Racist, white supremacist, Nazi fascist propaganda, regressive, sexist were some of the reactions the internet held for the company and the celebrity. A few months and multiple stories published across news organisations later, the brand, in conversation with WSJ, proudly boasts how the ads drove a bump in sales and attracted new customers.
What was the campaign?
The campaign, which launched on 23 July, shows the celebrity, who is known for her role in HBO’s Euphoria, in a series of suggestive denim looks with a tagline, “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.” The ad visibly played on the double meaning of ‘genes’ and ‘jeans’. While many came together to urge the company to pull down the ad, US President Donald Trump rushed to praise them, “Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the ‘HOTTEST’ ad out there.”
American Eagle CEO Jay Schottenstein, who personally approved the ads, told the WSJ that he instructed employees not to react to the uproar and instead put a small team in charge of monitoring social media. “You can’t run from fear. We stand behind what we did,” he said in his first interview on the subject.
Paid off
The strategy appears to have paid off. According to the company, the campaign added nearly a million new customers between July and September. The Sweeney Cinched Waist denim jacket sold out in a day, while the “Sydney Jean” sold out in a week. Sales growth turned positive in August, reversing earlier weakness.
Branding experts told the WSJ that, unlike other companies caught in culture-war controversies, such as Target or Anheuser-Busch InBev, American Eagle benefited by holding its ground. “By sticking to their guns, they gained customers,” Susan Cantor, CEO of Sterling Brands, told WSJ.
Schottenstein, who has been steering the family’s retail businesses for decades, said the company would not have pursued the campaign had it felt it was genuinely offensive. He added that American Eagle will continue its partnership with Sweeney, with her curated “Syd’s Picks” collection featuring denim, tanks, and utility jackets available online. The Sydney Jean will also be restocked in November.
American Eagle, which also owns the loungewear brand Aerie and menswear label Todd Snyder, has been consistently ranked the top denim brand among US Gen Z consumers, according to market research firm Circana.