How American Eagle’s Sydney Sweeney Ads...

ADWEEK reached out to American Eagle and its PR agency, Shadow, requesting an updated statement on the campaign. They did not respond; however, the brand has removed the film of Sweeney stating that her jeans are blue from several of its online channels, including YouTube and Instagram.

American Controversy

Reactions to the ad ran the gamut, and so did expert opinions on what caused the backlash. 

For veteran brand strategist Jean-Pierre Lacroix, author of books including Desire by Design, the pushback against American Eagle is less about a moral offense than it is a cry of disenfranchisement. 

Amid a swing to the right under President Trump, and corporate America’s recent backsliding on DEI initiatives, social progressives are feeling a loss of ground, said Lacroix.

This segment of consumers “feels like society has revolted against them, so they have portrayed this ad as the manifestation of a move away from diversity and inclusion,” observed Lacroix. “They’re reaching because they’re wounded, and they’re looking for a visual metaphor that validates their position. This ad became a lightning rod.”

Dory Ellis Garfinkle, CMO of global brand consultancy Siegel+Gale, suggested that the outcry over the ad may be missing the larger point that American Eagle could be ginning up outrage for its own sake.

“Rather than what the controversy is all about, what is more interesting is that a brand like American Eagle would stir controversy over an ad for denim,” she said. 

“It signals that creating controversy and attention-grabbing content is now everywhere, and this flavor may reflect a cultural longing for simpler times. It is unlikely that [the team] proceeded with this campaign without having insight into their audience and business that led to the decision.”

Leila Fataar, former Adidas and Diageo marketer-turned-founder of consultancy Platform13 and author of Culture-Led Brands, believes the backlash reflects a simple truth: brand messages don’t land in a vacuum; they land in culture, and that culture needs to be reflected in agency teams and marketing departments.