<\/p>\n
Could American Eagle\u2019s most expensive campaign to date end up being its most costly mistake?<\/p>\n
The campaign, which launched last week with actor Sydney Sweeney at the helm, reportedly cost millions of dollars as a big-bet play to reverse declining sales after the company reported a $68 million operating loss in Q1 of this year. Initially, the campaign caused American Eagle\u2019s stock to jump (perhaps due in part to it becoming a meme stock), but as the campaign spread, its focus on Sweeney\u2019s physical attributes caused a social media firestorm on multiple fronts.<\/p>\n
A video touting Sweeney\u2019s genetics as a play on the jeans\/genes homophone, in which she states, \u201cGenes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue,\u201d drew backlash for what some called eugenicist dogwhistle language given Sweeney\u2019s traditionally Aryan features. Others took issue with the campaign\u2019s use of sex appeal as a vehicle for domestic violence awareness and the general weirdness of the visuals and the script, which has now become a meme.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople were very upset, and not only people who didn\u2019t look like Sydney Sweeney,\u201d Myles Worthington, CEO and founder of marketing agency Worthi, told us. \u201cThey missed the mark, both tonally when it comes to the copy and the visuals they put out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Comedians to marketers to celebrities continue to weigh in as American Eagle is seemingly retreating. Some of the brand\u2019s most controversial posts, including the \u201cMy jeans are blue\u201d video and another that zooms in on Sweeney\u2019s chest, appear to have been taken down from some of its channels. Executives seem to be shielding themselves from the public: Craig Brommers, CMO, and Ashley Schapiro, VP of marketing, have turned off comments on their LinkedIn posts announcing the campaign and Angela Sumner, creative director of media, social, and influencer, has removed her profile picture and abbreviated her last name on the platform, Ad Age reported. (American Eagle\u2019s comms agency, Shadow, did not respond to requests for comment.)<\/p>\n
How American Eagle will respond as a brand remains to be seen, but experts told us that there are clear lessons to be learned from the campaign to date.<\/p>\n
Given the scale of the campaign, many critics have noted how many people likely had to approve the campaign, which could indicate a lack of diversity among decision-makers at American Eagle.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so clear that they didn\u2019t have anybody in the room that poked and prodded at this ad,\u201d Worthington said. \u201cI would bet all the dollars in the world that it was a very white, very privileged room [full of] people who didn\u2019t ask the right questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prior to the launch of the campaign, American Eagle CMO Craig Brommers told us that the brand wanted to use Sweeney\u2019s recognizability and sex appeal to reach women who want to be Sweeney and men who want to be with her in the hopes of \u201c[cutting] through in culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Sydney, we want people to either reconsider and reengage with us or look at us in a new light and begin to shop the brand,\u201d Brommers said last week.<\/p>\n
By framing Sweeney\u2019s features as \u201cgood genes,\u201d Worthington said there is an implication that \u201ceverything else that isn\u2019t this perfect blonde, white [skin], blue eyes, snatched-waist prototype is not good genes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The timing has caused some to contrast American Eagle\u2019s campaign with Ralph Lauren\u2019s recent \u201cOak Bluffs\u201d campaign, which celebrates the \u201cBlack Hamptons\u201d on Martha\u2019s Vineyard.<\/p>\n
Many have noted the similarities between the \u201cMy jeans are blue\u201d video and Calvin Klein\u2019s infamous 1980s Brooke Shields ad, which drew controversy for its sexually suggestive script and Shields being 15 at the time of filming.<\/p>\n
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Between the sexual aspects of the campaign and the focus on genetics, some critics have said they\u2019re not convinced that the brand wasn\u2019t consciously rage- or engagement-baiting, or perhaps seeking to reach an audience responsive to that type of messaging. Since the campaign was released, some on the right have come out to praise or defend it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they\u2019re going after that demo, and it boosted the stock price like 4% or whatever it is, then they\u2019ve been successful,\u201d Seth Horowitz, veteran publicist and president of marketing services group Horowitz Agency, told us.<\/p>\n
Even if American Eagle\u2019s intent was to simply highlight a conventionally attractive spokesperson, some have said they feel it was a misguided strategy to begin with. A person who identified herself as a former social media manager for American Eagle shared her thoughts on TikTok, saying that the brand\u2019s \u201clack of direction, lack of social awareness,” and overall disconnect from its customers stems from a desire to outperform competitors like Abercrombie & Fitch. Given American Eagle\u2019s place in a \u201csea of sameness\u201d among other retailers like A&F and Urban Outfitters, Worthington said he sees why American Eagle sought to stand out, but that impact was limited by the campaign\u2019s copy and the decision to not take on a more \u201calt or different\u201d spokesperson, rather than one with mass appeal.<\/p>\n
Sweeney, he said, is a safe bet with broad interest, which is perhaps why she\u2019s worked with so many brands and done similarly sexually suggestive campaigns in the past, most recently by selling her bathwater soap with Dr. Squatch. Brommers previously told us he didn\u2019t feel that this campaign would lose impact as yet another campaign for Sweeney, and he was confident her fans would be supportive, but that hasn\u2019t entirely been the case.<\/p>\n
According to Worthington, there\u2019s a difference between popularity and influence, and Sweeney is leaning more toward the former because of the number of products she\u2019s promoted.<\/p>\n
\u201cSydney Sweeney seems like a safe bet, but actually, because she\u2019s so monopolized, it\u2019s not a safe bet,\u201d he said. \u201dYou\u2019re spending a fuck ton of money and not getting any influence\u2026Are people going to buy American Eagle because Sydney Sweeney said yes? Probably not, because she says yes to everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
So how does American Eagle move forward? At this point, Horowitz said he doesn\u2019t expect American Eagle to issue an apology. What they do next, he said, will likely be determined by sales and engagement from the campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they\u2019re looking at the bottom line and it\u2019s boosting sales for them, then they might just move on from this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
What Horowitz said he\u2019s particularly interested to see is how American Eagle\u2019s campaign impacts its other brand, Aerie, which was built on body positivity and inclusion. Some people online have already called on brands like Levi\u2019s to respond with their Beyonc\u00e9 denim collab, or have spotlighted past jeans\/genes content from brands like Gap as a counter to American Eagle\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n
Washington said he believes the reason American Eagle hasn\u2019t spoken up yet is because its team may not know what to say, but he feels an apology is in order if the brand wants to engage those it\u2019s alienated with this campaign. While bringing in a diverse group of people to represent \u201cgood genes\u201d in the first place would have been ideal, he said even if the campaign copy is redone or expanded to be more inclusive, it\u2019ll always be marred by the first iteration.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a campaign that they needed to matter, and it did the opposite,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019d be very surprised if they were able to dig out of this as a business.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n