American Eagle Outfitters, a brand long known for its mainstream appeal and denim dominance, has found itself at the heart of a cultural and political storm after launching its latest campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney. The campaign, which debuted on July 23, 2025, centers on the tagline "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans"—a playful pun that riffs on the homophone "genes," referencing the star’s blue eyes and blonde hair. But what started as a cheeky marketing move has quickly become one of the most hotly debated fashion controversies of the year.
Almost immediately after the campaign’s launch, American Eagle’s stock price jumped by 10%, and the brand was thrust into the national spotlight. The ad, prominently displayed outside flagship stores such as in New York, features Sweeney in denim, inviting both praise and criticism. Online conversations erupted, with some seeing the wordplay as clever and lighthearted, while others accused the campaign of promoting exclusionary beauty standards and even alluding to eugenics. According to The Economic Times, the ad stoked debates on "wokeness," beauty ideals, and the role of race in advertising.
Public opinion quickly split along political and demographic lines. A YouGov survey conducted between July 31 and August 1, 2025, found that 54% of Americans considered the ad appropriate, with 16% calling it inappropriate. By the week of August 7–11, approval had climbed to 59%, while disapproval held steady at 17%. The most significant dividing line? Political affiliation. Republican approval soared from 68% to 78% in that week, while Democratic approval fell from 48% to just 38%. Independents’ support rose from 52% to 64%. The gap between Republican and Democratic approval doubled from 20 to 40 percentage points in a single week.
Demographic splits were equally stark. Men were more likely to find the ad appropriate than women (67% versus 51%), and older adults (70% approval among those 65 and up) were far more supportive than the youngest cohort (44% approval among those aged 18–29). White Americans (63%) were more supportive than Black (42%) or Hispanic (54%) Americans. These numbers, reported by YouGov, highlight how the campaign’s reception has been anything but uniform.
Among younger Americans, the divide was even sharper. A Generation Lab poll of 1,289 college students found that 64% of Democrats considered the ad out of touch, compared to just 39% of Republicans. Only 10% of young Democrats found the ad authentic, while 38% of Republicans said the same. When it came to purchase intent, 42% of young Democrats said the ad made them less likely to buy American Eagle jeans, compared to 16% of Republicans and 28% of Independents. Young women, the campaign’s primary target, were particularly skeptical—39% said they were less likely to purchase the jeans and 63% felt the ad was out of touch, versus 21% and 44% respectively among young men.
The campaign’s political undertones intensified after President Donald Trump publicly praised the ad on August 4, 2025, calling it "the hottest ad out there" and noting Sweeney’s status as a registered Republican. Republican impression scores for American Eagle shot up from 30 to 43 between July 23 and August 11, while Democratic impressions plummeted from a peak of 25 on July 27 to just 9 by August 11. Vice President J.D. Vance also used the ad to criticize Democrats, further deepening the partisan divide. White House communications manager Steven Cheung added fuel to the fire, posting on X that "Cancel culture run amok. This warped, moronic and dense liberal thinking is a big reason why Americans voted the way they did in 2024. They’re tired of this bullshit."
American Eagle, for its part, has stood by the campaign. On August 1, the brand posted on Instagram, "The campaign is and always was about the jeans," in an attempt to clarify its intentions. The post drew a staggering 24,500 comments, reflecting just how divided public opinion had become. Some accused the brand of gaslighting consumers, while others hailed the campaign as a pushback against so-called "woke" culture. Sydney Sweeney herself weighed in through the campaign’s messaging: "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue." American Eagle reiterated, "Her jeans. Her story. Great jeans look good on everyone."
Despite the brand’s efforts to steer the conversation back to denim, the controversy has had measurable business consequences. Retail analytics from Placer.ai and Pass_by showed that foot traffic to American Eagle stores dropped 3.90% year-over-year for the week of July 27 to August 2, and then plunged 8.96% in the week of August 3 to 9. This marked the largest two-week drop in over a year, coinciding directly with the cultural backlash. Before the campaign, American Eagle had been enjoying a steady 5% year-over-year increase in store visits, a testament to its popularity among Gen Z and young shoppers. Marketing experts told Sourcing Journal that "the size and speed of the decline points to more than just seasonal or economic trends. When a brand sees momentum stall so sharply, it often reflects a reputational or cultural factor cutting through to consumers."
Still, not all the news is bad for American Eagle. While Democratic purchase consideration remained flat or dipped slightly, Republican consideration rose from 16% on July 23 to 25% by August 11. The general population’s consideration also ticked upward, from 13% to 19% over the same period, suggesting the campaign has succeeded in driving engagement—even if that attention is not universally positive.
In the end, the "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans" campaign has transformed from a clever play on words into a lightning rod for debates about culture, politics, and the future of fashion marketing. Whether the campaign will ultimately be remembered as a cautionary tale or a bold stand against cultural trends remains to be seen. For now, one thing is clear: Sydney Sweeney’s jeans—and genes—have sparked a conversation that shows no signs of fading soon.
