American Eagle
Jay Schottenstein, the 71-year-old CEO of American Eagle, has given a victory lap interview to detail the company’s viral ad campaign with Sydney Sweeney over the summer. The campaign was called “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”
In the series of ads, meant to be puns about Sydney Sweeney’s famous physical gifts, the actress is seen wearing American Eagle products. In the most viral ad, Sweeney says: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue.”
The vocal minority of critics claimed that the ads were promoting “eugenics,” which is a term that Schottenstein said he’s “very conscious of,” adding that if they felt the campaign was offensive in that way, they “never would’ve done it.”
American Eagle CEO gloats in first public interview since the viral Sydney Sweeney campaign
“You can’t run from fear,” CEO Jay Schottenstein said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “We stand behind what we did.”
According to the report from the Wall Street Journal, the ads brought “almost a million” new customers to the brand between July and September, seeing a spike in American Eagle’s stock price. Furthermore, products such as the Sweeney Cinched Waist denim jacket sold out in a day, while the Sydney Jean sold out in a week.
Additionally, Schottenstein reportedly told his team to “remain calm” in the midst of the controversy and not to publicly comment on the advertisements.
While Sweeney has shown an ability to move product, she’s yet to prove that she can open a movie, as her latest two releases — Americana and Eden, both of which hit theaters in late August — bombed at the box office.
Next up for Sweeney will be Christy, the biopic about boxer Christy Martin, releasing on November 7, and The Housemaid, the Paul Feig-directed adaptation of the best-selling thriller, which hits theaters on Christmas Day.