American Eagle shares have soared since the clothing retailer debuted a new advertising campaign starring Sydney Sweeney that some woke critics have branded ‘Nazi propaganda’.
Last week, the company rolled out its fall commercial lineup featuring the 27-year-old actress in various poses and scenarios with the tagline, ‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’.
The obvious reference to her ‘genes’ didn’t sit well with many people on social media, who accused the ads of being a racial dog whistle.
Despite the loud backlash, the double-entendre has seemingly resonated, with American Eagle stock up more than 11 percent since last Wednesday, with a notable spike the day the commercials were released.
Sweeney, who rose to fame starring in HBO’s ‘Euphoria’ and ‘The White Lotus,’ has not publicly addressed the criticism the ads have received.
In one of the most harshly denounced videos, she is seen buttoning up her jeans as she muses: ‘Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color… my genes are blue.’
A second ad saw the camera pan down Sweeney’s chest as she models a plunging denim jumpsuit.
‘My body’s composition is determined by my genes…’ she said before scolding the camera: ‘Hey, eyes up here.’
The adverts have divided fans, with one critic calling the clip ‘one of the loudest and most obvious racialized dog whistles we’ve seen and heard in a while.’
The phrase ‘great genes’ is ‘historically used to celebrate whiteness, thinness and attractiveness,’ which it said made ‘this campaign seem to be a tone-deaf marketing move,’ a Salon report on the backlash read.
Taking to social media, many expressed their shock at messaging – which they aligned to Nazi propaganda.
Outraged fans penned: ‘So Sydney (& American Eagle) somehow expect audiences to not interpret this visual as a euphemism for eugenics and white supremacy?’
‘The Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad campaign is just modern day Nazi propaganda. Like it’s wild how blatant it is. Things are weird right now, man.’
But American Eagle Chief Marketing Officer Craig Brommers has a decidedly different explanation for what the company was trying to accomplish with the ads featuring Sweeney.
According to Brommers, Sweeney is one of the most recognizable young people in the world.
He said he and others thought putting her face in ads right before the back-to-school season would be a winning strategy.
‘To be able to partner with [Sweeney] on this is saying something, and it’s saying something in what has been a trickier retail environment this year, that American Eagle is still placing big bets,’ he told Marketing Dive. ‘We are still the jeans authority, especially for Gen Z.’
Brommers stressed that he wanted American Eagle’s brand to be more flashy than that of the main competition, which he named as Shein, Amazon and Walmart.
The company’s identity overhaul comes after its total net revenue decreased to $1.1 billion in the first quarter, a five percent year over year decline.
News of this revenue hit was announced on May 29, when shares were trading for around $11.18.
Throughout most of the summer, shares have been high $9 to mid $10 range.
But after the Sweeney ads, American Eagle stock has fully recovered and has even gained.
‘What we’ve also learned along the way is as talent costs have escalated, sometimes it’s actually more important to place the big bets behind the biggest stars, and while those investments tend to be higher, the payback tends to be higher as well,’ Brommers said.
