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American Eagle stores fall 9% amid backlash over ‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ campaign
Controversy over Sydney Sweeney’s ad campaign may have hurt American Eagle, with in-store visits dropping 9% in the weeks following its release.
Foot traffic at American Eagle stores dropped 9 percent two weeks after Sydney Sweeney appeared in a controversial ad campaign for the brand, according to data from Pass_by, Independent reported.
American Eagle featured the 27-year-old Euphoria and Madame Web actress in a campaign called “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” last month. The ad sparked backlash, with some critics accusing it of promoting eugenic ideas due to the play on the words “jeans” and “genes.”
Others called the ad racist, which led to strong pushback from conservatives. Vice President JD Vance, Senator Ted Cruz, and President Donald Trump defended Sweeney.
Following the backlash, data from Pass_by, shared with Retail Brew, showed a drop in foot traffic in the weeks after the ad launched compared to the same period last year.
In the first full week after the campaign debuted on July 23, American Eagle saw a 3.9 percent drop in foot traffic year over year. The biggest decline came during the week of August 3 to August 9, when visits fell 9 percent compared to the same week in 2024.
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Competitors like H&M and Abercrombie also saw dips in store visits
Some of American Eagle’s competitors also saw fewer in-store visits that week. Abercrombie & Fitch dropped 3.3 percent, H&M fell 4.9 percent, and Urban Outfitters declined 2.7 percent compared to the same time last year, according to Pass_by.
It’s unclear how many American Eagle stores Pass_by analyzed or whether the company’s online sales were affected by the ad. The campaign, launched in late July, drew attention for its take on race and beauty standards in the US. It features Sweeney, a petite blonde blue-eyed actress, looking into the camera and talking about her “genes.”
“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color,” Sweeney says in the video. “My jeans are blue,” she adds, before a narrator says, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”
Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican voter in Florida
The campaign stirred more controversy after it was revealed that Sweeney is a registered Republican voter in Florida, according to Independent.
Per The New York Times, social media data showed that most of the outrage came from conservative influencers, not liberals.
Even so, Fox News continued to focus on Sweeney. As recently as Friday, the network aired a segment saying liberals were upset over a month-old ice cream ad that also featured her.
Sweeney has not publicly commented on the issue. American Eagle released a statement defending the campaign, saying,“‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans.”
“We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way,” the company added. “Great jeans look good on everyone.”
