American Eagle has faced significant backlash in recent months following its advertising campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney. The campaign, launched in August, showed Sweeney wearing blue American Eagle jeans and making puns about “jeans” and “genes,” referencing her appearance.
In one advertisement, Sweeney stated, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue.” The campaign’s tagline is “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” Many observers noted similarities between this campaign and Brooke Shields’ 1980 Calvin Klein commercial, which also played on the words “jeans” and “genes.” In that earlier ad, Shields said, “Natural selection, which filters out those genes better equipped than others to endure in the environment. This may result in the origin of an entirely new species, which brings us to Calvin’s and the survival of the fittest.”
The current American Eagle ads prompted criticism on social media platforms. Some consumers accused the company of promoting fascism and eugenics—the belief that selective breeding for certain inherited traits can improve future generations. A viral TikTok video by user jessbritvich claimed that “nothing in this ad was accidental” and called it a “dog whistle” signaling “the rise of fascism in America.”
In response to growing controversy, American Eagle CEO Jay Schottenstein addressed the issue publicly for the first time during an interview with The Wall Street Journal. He explained his approach as the debate intensified: “You can’t run from fear,” said Schottenstein. “We stand behind what we did.” He also shared that American Eagle polled customers regarding their opinions on the ads; according to him, results indicated customers enjoyed them.
Following release of the campaign, American Eagle experienced a surge in sales. The Sweeney Cinched Waist denim jacket sold out within a day; the Sydney Jean sold out within a week; and nearly one million new customers were added between July and September.
Schottenstein commented further on allegations concerning eugenics: as an Orthodox Jew whose mother-in-law grew up in Nazi Germany—a regime notorious for its promotion of eugenic ideology—he expressed confusion over such criticisms. “I’m very conscious of that term,” said Schottenstein. He added that if he or his team believed the campaign would be interpreted offensively in this way, “we never would’ve done it.”
Chief Marketing Officer Craig Brahmers reiterated support for continuing with Sydney Sweeney as part of future campaigns: “Sydney Sweeney has great genes is not going anywhere,” said Brahmers. “Sydney will be part of our team as we get into the back half of the year. And we will be introducing new elements of the campaign as we continue forward.”
American Eagle’s reaffirmed commitment to its marketing strategy comes at a challenging time for retail more broadly. According to its second-quarter earnings report for 2025, comparable sales fell by 3% compared to last year while revenue dropped by 3.2%. These figures reflect broader industry trends: mall visits have declined across retail since June and overall consumer sentiment is falling nationwide.
Recent data from University of Michigan shows consumer sentiment dropped by 4.8% in September relative to August—the lowest level since May (https://data.sca.isr.umich.edu/). Joanne Hsu, Director at University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers stated: “Consumers continue to note multiple vulnerabilities in the economy, with rising risks to business conditions, labor markets, and inflation… Likewise, consumers perceive risks to their pocketbooks as well.”
