Sydney Sweeney’s controversial ‘Great Jeans’ advertising campaign led to a bump in American Eagles stock and a rise in website traffic, but it has had a negligible impact on demand for the company’s jeans.
The campaign, which divided progressives who labelled it racist and a nod to Nazi eugenics theory, but garnered support from conservatives including US president Donald Trump, has not enamoured consumers, according to two pieces of analysis.
In fact, retail analytics firm pass_by said it could turn customers away from the company’s stores.
Pass_by uses AI technology and in-store sensors to measure footfall at American retailers. It found that American Eagles Outfitters store traffic dropped by 3.9 per cent in the week after the Sweeney campaign dropped, and a further 9 per cent the week after.
Pass_by’s marketing chief James Ewen believes the declines are directly linked to the Sweeney campaign and the cultural conversation surrounding it.
“When a brand sees momentum stall so sharply, it often reflects a reputational or cultural factor cutting through to consumers.”
Another analysis by Consumer Edge shows that the hype around Sweeney’s campaign has substantially lifted visits to the American Eagle website, which jumped by 60 per cent in the days after the campaign dropped.
However, this has not translated to sales. Consumer Edge found that American Eagle’s US market share versus key competitors has been relatively stable, with no significant lift following either the campaign launch or the political news cycle.
Consumer Edge VP head of Insights for the CEIC Michael Gunther said that the American Eagle Sydney Sweeney story is “a useful reminder that viral moments don’t necessarily translate into immediate consumer behaviour change. Interest may spike, but unless that attention converts into spending, the business impact remains limited.”
Marketers are divided about the campaign. Inclusive marketing experts, including Dr. Anastasia Kārkliņa Gabriel and Lola Bakare, were critical of the ad.
“I haven’t been this disgusted since ZARA wrapped corpse-like mannequins in white cloth while thousands of civilians were being bombarded you know where in 2023,” Kārkliņa said.
“It’s not just selling denim. It’s an ad campaign firmly rooted in the ideology of American whiteness.”
However, brand consultant and marketing professor Mark Ritson could not see what all of the fuss is about. He described it as “an average ad for a fading brand featuring a hot celebrity”.
He added: “And the relatively minor status of the American Eagle brand for most current fashion buyers means that whatever the company loses in sales from a few super radical trendies, it will surely win a hundred fold back from consumers who don’t care, don’t see any of the nonsense but who are suddenly aware and readily salient for a brand that they never thought of before.”
