An editor has nominated this article for deletion. You are welcome to participate in the deletion discussion , which will decide whether or not to retain it. |
| Client | American Eagle Outfitters |
|---|---|
| Release date(s) | July 23, 2025 |
| Starring |
Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans is an advertising campaign launched by American Eagle Outfitters on July 23, 2025, featuring American actress Sydney Sweeney. [1]
The campaign caused controversy for its wordplay between "jeans" and "genes". Although the advertisements were not political, the campaign drew the attention of the Trump administration and some conservative commentators, who claimed that Sydney and American Eagle were targeted as part of a broader "woke" backlash; criticisms of the ad campaign were widely described as an exaggeration by various news agencies. [2] [3]
American Eagle's stock price (NYSE : AEO) rose 10% after announcing the campaign, with the advertisement being compared to Brooke Shields' popular 1980s commercials with Calvin Klein. [4]
At the time of launching the advertising campaign, American Eagle was in financial turmoil, with an operating loss of $68,062,000 in the first quarter of 2025. [1] [5] [ non-primary source needed ] This was due to the United States federal government's tariffs, product misses and recessed economic activity. [1] The chief marketing officer of the company, Craig Brommers, said that the campaign's cost is "significantly more" than those in the past and that "the pressure is on even more because of the uncertain economic environment that we're navigating". [1]
As part of the campaign, a new limited-edition product called "The Sydney Jean" will be launched. The product promotes domestic violence awareness and all revenue from its sales will be donated to Crisis Text Line. [6] [ non-primary source needed ] [7]
American Eagle's stock price (NYSE : AEO) rose 10% after announcing the campaign, with the advertisement being compared to Brooke Shields' popular 1980s commercials with Calvin Klein. [4]
In one of the advertisements that was particularly controversial, Sweeney says that "genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans [or genes] are blue". A man's voice then declares "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans". [8]
Criticisms of the ad campaign were widely described as an exaggeration by various news agencies. [2] [3] A YouGov opinion poll of American adults found that 52% believed that the advert was appropriate and 16% stated that it was inappropriate. [9] A further poll by Kantar found that 62% of men and 50% of women were likely to consider the brand in the future, compared to 15% of men and 25% of women that said the advert made them unlikely to consider it. [10]
The campaign received support from prominent Republican figures, who claimed that backlash to it was "woke" and an example of cancel culture. [11] [12]
President Donald Trump was prompted to respond after it was reportedly revealed that Sweeney was a registered Republican, [13] with Trump expressing his delight by saying that "[i]f Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic!” [14] Following Trump's remarks, American Eagle's stock price rose by over 20%. [15]