#sales-impact

#sales-impact

To recap, American Eagle Outfitters faced weeks of scrutiny for its ad featuring the blonde-haired, blue-eyed actor. From mainstream media to LinkedIn feeds, everyone chimed in (including President Trump) on whether the denim brand deliberately issued a racist 'dog whistle' for a campaign that ran with the pun: "Sydney Sweeney has great genes." The ad, which landed during the peak back-to-school marketing rush, was also criticized for seemingly taking inspiration from a 1980 Calvin Klein ad starring a 15-year-old Brooke Shields.