American Eagle launched its second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, and whereas the outcomes weren’t precisely stellar (comp gross sales slid by 3%) these figures embrace solely a few week’s price of the cultural tidal wave generated by “Sydney Sweeney Has Nice Denims,” the marketing campaign that broke the web when it debuted on July 23.
To gauge the complete impact that the coquettish 27-year-old actor could have had on gross sales, traders must wait till third-quarter earnings seem on the finish of November. However American Eagle CMO Craig Brommers lifted the tent flap slightly in a name with ADWEEK.
In sum, Ms. Sweeney moved the needle, and the model has no regrets concerning the adverts.
“We [saw] double-digit will increase throughout each ladies’s and males’s denim gross sales within the first six weeks of this marketing campaign,” Brommers mentioned. “There was a Sydney denim jacket that bought out in at some point and a Sydney Jean that bought out in a single week, and has been so widespread that we’ll be restocking it through the vacation interval.”
In accordance with Brommers, the Sweeney marketing campaign drove “unprecedented new buyer acquisition” for American Eagle, whereas her marketing campaign generated 40 billion impressions general.
That these impressions had been a combined bag was additionally a degree Brommers addressed. Quite a few media retailers (together with this one) reported on the general public’s umbrage over the marketing campaign’s free swapping of “denims” with “genes,” with some accusing AE of selling a caucasian magnificence normal and even eugenics idea.
However in fact, Brommers mentioned, most shoppers truly favored the advert. “It’s a very false narrative to say that the marketing campaign has been overwhelmed by unfavourable sentiment,” he mentioned.
And he’s right, at the least in line with an Economist/YouGov ballot taken in mid August. The survey of 1,635 People revealed 39% thought of the Sweeney marketing campaign to be “intelligent,” whereas solely 12% referred to as it “offensive.” (One other 40% believed it was neither and eight% didn’t have an opinion.)
After all, in a section as aggressive as attire, a traditionalist would possibly argue that entrepreneurs can’t afford to offend or alienate anybody in any respect—and 12% isn’t nothing when Gen Z (American Eagle’s core buyer) makes up 1 / 4 of the inhabitants.
However Brommers stood agency behind the marketing campaign. “For anybody who’s requested if advertising works,” he mentioned, “they need to reference the American Eagle Sydney Sweeney marketing campaign as proof that it does.”
The shop-level outcomes generated by “Sydney Sweeney Has Nice Denims” additionally seem to affirm American Eagle’s determination to associate with Tru Kolors, the 6-year-old label launched by Kansas Metropolis Chiefs tight finish Travis Kelce. The 90-piece limited-run assortment, referred to as AE x Tru Kolors by Travis Kelce, debuted on Aug. 27, with a second drop slated for Sept. 24.
Kelce’s Instagram following of seven.9 million pales compared to Sweeney’s 25 million-strong fanbase, however he’s unlikely to generate the contretemps that Sweeney did. The Aug. 26 announcement of Kelce’s engagement to Taylor Swift doesn’t harm, both.
“We could have practically 800,000 new prospects within the final six weeks, bolstered by the Sydney Sweeney marketing campaign and now the Travis Kelce marketing campaign,” Brommers mentioned.
These latest two collaborations are the newest in a string that’s included Addison Rae (2020), Jenna Ortega (2021), and Coco Gauff (2024). They’re additionally a part of a broader effort to place the 48-year-old denim model on Gen Z’s radar. But even with American Eagle’s observe file of signing the younger, stunning, and classy, it’s price asking: Did the model anticipate a response as explosive because the one Sweeney handed them?
“Sure, we knew that placing Sydney on the middle of this story would seize consideration,” Brommers admitted. And amid the pushback and the sensationalist press protection, the model additionally didn’t hesitate to remain the course.
“There was a variety of social media noise, [but] the outcomes of this marketing campaign are louder,” Brommers mentioned. “We had been utilizing correct, real-time information to make knowledgeable selections concerning the marketing campaign, and it gave us full confidence to execute the marketing campaign because it was initially deliberate.”
