{"id":2469696,"date":"2025-08-01T14:02:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T18:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sydney-sweeney-jeans-ad-is-an-admission-dei-was-a-mistake\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T14:04:44","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T18:04:44","slug":"sydney-sweeney-jeans-ad-is-an-admission-dei-was-a-mistake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sydney-sweeney-jeans-ad-is-an-admission-dei-was-a-mistake\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney Sweeney Jeans Ad Is An Admission DEI Was A Mistake"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsydney-sweeney-jeans-ad-is-an-admission-dei-was-a-mistake%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2469696&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>American Eagle&#8217;s Fall 2025 campaign, titled &#8220;Sydney sweeney Has Grate Jeans,&#8221; marks a strategic shift away from woke fashion advertising, which the brand admits does not drive sales. Announced in July 2025,the campaign quickly boosted American Eagle&#8217;s stock by 18%,garnered millions of video views,and generated widespread social media buzz. The company&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/krispy-kreme-will-give-free-doughnuts-to-vaccinated-customers\/\" title=\"Krispy Kreme Will Give Free Doughnuts To Vaccinated Customers\">chief marketing officer<\/a>, Craig Brommers, described the campaign as a &#8220;reset&#8221; to reclaim the brand&#8217;s denim authority, featuring actress Sydney Sweeney, who appeals to both Gen Z and Millennials with her relatable, &#8220;girl next door&#8221; image combined with red-carpet appeal.<\/p>\n<p>This move contrasts with past efforts by American Eagle and other fashion brands like Victoria&#8217;s Secret, Nike, and Target, whose attempts to emphasize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and &#8220;body positivity&#8221; led to declining sales and stock drops.American Eagle&#8217;s new campaign taps into nostalgia for classic jean styles from the 60s, 70s, and 90s, further enhancing its appeal.<\/p>\n<p>While the campaign has faced criticism for oversexualization and catering to the male gaze, it signals a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/disney-making-dei-changes-that-will-impact-classic-movies-report\/\" title=\"Disney Making DEI Changes That Will Impact Classic Movies: Report\">broader industry trend<\/a> of moving away from politically driven, woke advertising. Critics of woke fashion view the return to conventional beauty and sex appeal as a restoration of natural market preferences, seeing DEI-focused campaigns and the celebration of obesity as fading trends.The campaign has also met backlash from corporate media, with some claiming the ads are racist or politically charged, but supporters celebrate the campaign as a &#8220;healing&#8221; shift toward mainstream attractiveness and straightforward marketing.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>American Eagle&rsquo;s Fall 2025 campaign, headlined &ldquo;Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,&rdquo; is an admission that woke fashion advertisements do not sell.<\/p>\n<p>The brand announced the collaboration on July 23. In the days immediately following, American Eagle stock <a href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/news\/american-eagle-aeo-soars-18-152649896.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">climbed<\/a> 18 percent. The video below has more than two million views on YouTube, American Eagle is trending on X, and several of the campaign&rsquo;s Instagram <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DMdkzn1Bo5j\/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&amp;igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">posts<\/a> have tens of thousands of likes. Everyone from <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/pokN4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Evie Magazine<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/opinion\/msnbc-opinion\/sydney-sweeney-american-eagle-ad-whiteness-rcna221630\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MSNBC<\/a> is talking about it.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans | American Eagle\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AK8s3iqL99c?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Craig Brommers, American Eagle&rsquo;s chief marketing officer, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aeo-inc.com\/2025\/07\/23\/wwd-american-eagle-bets-big-on-sydney-sweeney-to-rev-up-fall-denim-sales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called<\/a> the campaign a &ldquo;reset&rdquo; to &ldquo;reclaim American Eagle&rsquo;s jeans authority.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>Like most of the fashion industry, American Eagle has wallowed in DEI in the past. Their Fall 2019 campaign <a href=\"https:\/\/investors.ae.com\/press-releases\/news-details\/2019\/American-Eagle-Makes-an-Uproar-for-Fall-19-With-Lil-Wayne-Collaboration-and-Unrivaled-New-Jeans-Collections-With-Curvy-AirFlex-and-Stacked-Fits\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">included<\/a> an obscene <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VvUCImlTEIw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">music video<\/a> by Lil Wayne. Many of the models in the video were visibly overweight and the Lil Wayne video was part of the company&rsquo;s campaign to expand sizing options and &ldquo;unleash the power of inclusivity.&rdquo; In response, their stock tanked at the end of 2019 and into early 2020. <\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>Victoria&rsquo;s Secret <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harpersbazaar.com\/uk\/fashion\/a42911\/victorias-secret-fashion-show\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cancelled<\/a> its <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >2019 fashion show amid falling viewership numbers<\/a> and an announcement that it wouldn&rsquo;t be broadcast on TV. Prior to the show&rsquo;s cancellation, leftist activists targeted the brand, accusing it of lacking diversity. The brand&rsquo;s chief marketing officer was forced to apologize after saying that trans-identifying and plus-sized models had no place in the show. In 2021, Victoria&rsquo;s Secret <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/fashion\/2021\/jun\/17\/victorias-secret-angels-vs-collective-megan-rapinoe-priyanka-chopra-jonas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rebranded<\/a> as &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/while-hurricane-helene-ruins-lives-kamala-harris-does-interview-on-sex-talk-podcast-to-speak-about-abortion-rights\/\" title=\"While Hurricane Helene Ruins Lives, Kamala Harris Does Interview on Sex-Talk Podcast to Speak About Abortion Rights\">body positive&#038;rdquo<\/a>; and &ldquo;inclusive.&rdquo; Sales <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/media\/victorias-secret-ditches-prioritizing-wokeness-sexiness-sales-drop\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tumbled<\/a>. The show <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/tvshowbiz\/article-13964301\/2024-victorias-secret-fashion-fan-reactions-boring-woke.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">returned<\/a> in 2024 with a transgender and &ldquo;plus-size&rdquo; models but was slammed as boring and woke. The company&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/255806\/net-sales-of-victorias-secret-worldwide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sales<\/a> still haven&rsquo;t recovered.<\/p>\n<p>Likewise, Nike&rsquo;s stock <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2024\/04\/17\/nike-stocks-still-tanking-a-year-after-mulvaney-partnership\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tanked<\/a> after they partnered with social media personality Dylan Mulvaney, a man pretending to be a woman, to promote women&rsquo;s activewear in 2023. Target&rsquo;s market value also <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/05\/28\/target-loses-10b-following-boycott-calls-over-lgbtq-friendly-clothing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">took a hit<\/a> in 2023 after their Pride collection featured several children&rsquo;s items, including &ldquo;tuck friendly&rdquo; swimsuits. The company <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/05\/10\/business\/target-pride-merchandise-june-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reduced<\/a> the size of their Pride 2024 collection and only offered it in select stores.<\/p>\n<p>Brommers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aeo-inc.com\/2025\/07\/23\/wwd-american-eagle-bets-big-on-sydney-sweeney-to-rev-up-fall-denim-sales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called<\/a> signing Sydney &ldquo;one of the biggest gets&rdquo; in the brand&rsquo;s history. &ldquo;She is the girl who can play the red carpet but she&rsquo;s also the girl next door, and that duality really defines Gen Z and Millennials,&rdquo; Brommers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aeo-inc.com\/2025\/07\/23\/wwd-american-eagle-bets-big-on-sydney-sweeney-to-rev-up-fall-denim-sales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said.<\/a> Other phrases popular with Gen-Z like &ldquo;it girl&rdquo; and &ldquo;main character energy&rdquo; are <a href=\"https:\/\/investors.ae.com\/press-releases\/news-details\/2025\/Sydney-Sweeney-Has-Great-American-Eagle-Jeans\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sprinkled<\/a> throughout the press releases. In addition to billboards in Times Square, Sweeney will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aeo-inc.com\/2025\/07\/23\/wwd-american-eagle-bets-big-on-sydney-sweeney-to-rev-up-fall-denim-sales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">appear<\/a> in SnapChat, BeReal, and Instagram content, sometimes directly interacting with users.<\/p>\n<p>Nostalgia also seems to be a favorite tool for Gen-Z brand engagement. The jeans styles featured in this year&rsquo;s back-to-school collection, which are trending everywhere, are all inspired by 60&rsquo;s, 70&rsquo;s, and 90&rsquo;s fits. Even the classic car featured in the Sweeney ad appeals to viewers&rsquo; nostalgia. Many are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/hollywood\/story\/sydney-sweeney-american-eagle-jeans-controversy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">comparing<\/a> &ldquo;Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans&rdquo; to Brooke Shields&rsquo; 1980 <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/AXzR5b6HoIA?si=9ZHxRIpsorv4nnWw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ads<\/a> for Calvin Klein, which also sparked controversy. Other American brands like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theconservateur.com\/fashion\/prep-on-pause-j-crew-gets-back-to-its-roots?rq=j%20crew\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">J. Crew<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.townandcountrymag.com\/society\/tradition\/a65477472\/polo-ralph-lauren-oaks-bluffs-collection\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ralph Lauren<\/a> have also launched nostalgia-inspired collections in the wake of the 2024 election&rsquo;s vibe shift.<\/p>\n<p>The Sydney Sweeney ad campaign has experienced backlash for oversexualization and catering to the male gaze. Some of this criticism is fair &mdash; we&rsquo;ve moved up from the third circle to the second, but we are still in hell &mdash; but the reality that sex sells is a conversation for another time. What&rsquo;s worth noting is that many see hot women as MAGA-coded because the left has pushed so-called &ldquo;body positivity&rdquo; and radical ideology for so many years.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>I love the new Sydney Sweeney ads for American Eagle. <br \/>Normal hot girls are BACK! <\/p>\n<p>Not porn<br \/>Not trans<br \/>Not gay<br \/>Not obese to make a point <br \/>Not wearing a headscarf to be inclusive<br \/>Not political<\/p>\n<p>Just a hot girl in jeans. <\/p>\n<p>The world is healing&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Cy6BCLb2YO\">pic.twitter.com\/Cy6BCLb2YO<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; Nicole Arbour (@NicoleArbour) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NicoleArbour\/status\/1950023977918681423?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 29, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Unsurprisingly, members of the corporate media once again revealed themselves to be peddlers of woke ideology, jumping&nbsp;right to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/30\/claims-that-sydney-sweeney-jeans-ad-is-racist-are-why-no-one-trusts-the-corporate-press\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">calling<\/a>&nbsp;the ad racist and claiming that the &ldquo;good jeans&rdquo; pun is &ldquo;Nazi propaganda.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>However, the return of beauty and sex appeal to the fashion industry is a sign that nature is healing itself. DEI and the glorification of obesity may be on their way out.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Jacqueline Annis-Levings is a correspondent for the Federalist. She is a rising junior at Patrick Henry College, where she is majoring in English.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>American Eagle&#8217;s Fall 2025 campaign admits woke ads don&#8217;t sell<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3848,"featured_media":2469697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-29-140357.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[16574,60434,60092,42917],"class_list":["post-2469696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-dei","tag-diversity-and-inclusion","tag-jeans-ad","tag-sydney-sweeney"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-29-140357.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3848"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2469696"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2469700,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469696\/revisions\/2469700"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2469697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2469696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2469696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2469696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}