Campaign Spotlight: American Eagle × Sydney Sweeney – "Great Jeans"

The Creative Strategy

The campaign centres around Sweeney's appeal as Gen Z's golden girl, positioning her as the face of American Eagle's Fall '25 denim collection. The creative execution includes television spots, 3D billboards in Las Vegas, Snapchat AR lenses, and AI-powered try-on technology. The tagline cleverly shifts between "Sydney Sweeney has great genes" and "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans," with one memorable spot featuring Sweeney explaining genetics whilst the camera lingers on her blue eyes.

The Psychological Approach

American Eagle employed several psychological triggers:

Celebrity Halo Effect: Leveraging Sweeney's massive cultural cache from Euphoria and The White Lotus to transfer her desirability to the brand.

Aspirational Identity: Positioning the jeans as a pathway to embodying Sweeney's "effortless" aesthetic and confidence.

Wordplay Engagement: The genes/jeans pun created a memorable hook designed to generate social media conversation and sharing.

Why It Worked (And Didn't)

The campaign succeeded in generating massive awareness and engagement, but not in the way American Eagle intended. The wordplay around "great genes" combined with Sweeney's blonde hair and blue eyes triggered accusations of promoting eugenics and white supremacist ideals. Critics argued the messaging echoed dangerous historical narratives, whilst supporters defended it as clever wordplay being misinterpreted.

Dr. Marcus Collins, marketing professor at the University of Michigan, noted: "What it communicates to people is that there is a prototypical standard for good genes: white, blond hair, blue eyes. Considering the political and social, cultural backdrop that we're in right now, that could seem like some pretty bad dog whistling".

Campaign Results

The backlash was swift and significant:

• Doja Cat's TikTok mockery of the campaign garnered over 20.2 million views

• Coverage in major outlets including NPR, USA Today, and The Washington Post

• American Eagle's stock briefly spiked upon campaign announcement, then experienced volatility as controversy grew

• The brand posted 14 consecutive Instagram posts featuring Sweeney before pivoting to damage control with a post featuring a woman of colour

Other Notable Campaigns This Week

Canva's London Billboard Takeover

Whilst American Eagle courted controversy, Canva demonstrated how to execute bold creative without alienating audiences. Their 14-billboard takeover at London Waterloo brilliantly translated digital design frustrations into physical comedy.

Highlights included an oversized logo breaking free from its frame (answering the classic "make the logo bigger" request) and awkwardly squeezed landscape content demonstrating their Magic Resize tool. The campaign earned widespread praise from the design community and generated organic social sharing without negative backlash.

Geico's Multi-Campaign Blitz

Geico launched their largest creative slate ever: eight campaigns across seven insurance lines, featuring 164 total assets including 60 video ads, 54 social ads, and 50 audio pieces. This personalised approach marked a shift from broad messaging to highly targeted storytelling, with each campaign tailored to specific customer segments like renters, truckers, and RV owners.

Key Takeaways for Marketing Professionals

1. Cultural Context is Everything

American Eagle's misstep highlights how seemingly innocent creative choices can trigger unintended cultural and political responses. In today's polarised climate, brands must rigorously pressure-test campaigns for potential misinterpretations, especially when dealing with themes around identity, beauty standards, or genetics.

Actionable insight: Establish diverse review panels early in the creative process to identify potential cultural landmines before they reach market.

2. Controversy Can Drive Awareness, But at What Cost?

Whilst the American Eagle campaign generated massive awareness and media coverage, the negative sentiment may have long-term brand implications. The campaign sparked a global conversation, but much of it centred on accusations of promoting harmful ideologies rather than product benefits.

Actionable insight: Develop crisis communication protocols before launching potentially provocative campaigns. Have response strategies ready for multiple scenarios, including immediate pivots if backlash occurs.

3. Humour and Relatability Trump Shock Value

Canva's billboard campaign demonstrates how brands can be bold and memorable whilst maintaining positive sentiment. By tapping into shared professional frustrations and design culture in-jokes, they created content that felt authentic and shareable without alienating audiences.

Actionable insight: Mine your audience's daily frustrations and industry humour for campaign inspiration. Authentic relatability often outperforms manufactured controversy in building lasting brand affinity.

The Week's Verdict

This week proved that in 2025's cultural landscape, every creative choice carries potential political implications. Whilst American Eagle's campaign achieved its goal of generating conversation, it also demonstrated how quickly marketing messages can spiral beyond brand control. Meanwhile, Canva showed that creativity and boldness need not come at the expense of brand safety—sometimes the most effective campaigns are those that make audiences smile rather than argue.

The lesson for brand builders: in an increasingly divided world, the brands that thrive will be those that unite rather than divide, inspire rather than inflame, and create conversations that elevate rather than alienate.

Brand Building Weekly is your essential guide to the campaigns shaping culture and commerce. For more insights and analysis, visit brandbuildingweekly.com