American Eagle Foot Traffic Declines After Controversial Sydney Sweeney Ad Campaign
American Eagle stores experienced a decline in foot traffic following the launch of a controversial ad campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney. The campaign, titled “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” faced criticism for potentially promoting eugenic ideas and racism. Despite pushback from conservatives like Vice President JD Vance, Senator Ted Cruz, and President Donald Trump, the ad led to a 9 percent drop in store visits two weeks after its debut, according to data from Pass_by.
In the first week after the campaign launched, American Eagle saw a 3.9 percent decrease in foot traffic compared to the same period the previous year. The largest decline occurred during the week of August 3 to August 9, with a 9 percent decrease in visits compared to the same week in 2024. Competitors like Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M, and Urban Outfitters also experienced declines in foot traffic during that week, according to Pass_by data.
The ad campaign, which focused on race and beauty standards in the US, featured Sweeney discussing her “genes” and “jeans.” The controversy intensified when it was revealed that Sweeney is a registered Republican voter in Florida. While most of the backlash came from conservative influencers, Fox News continued to highlight the issue, linking it to liberal outrage over a previous ice cream ad featuring Sweeney.
Despite the controversy, Sweeney has not publicly addressed the issue, and American Eagle defended the campaign, emphasizing that it was always about the jeans and celebrating how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence. The company reiterated that great jeans look good on everyone, regardless of the controversy surrounding the ad.