The business and political debate over the American Eagle Sydney Sweeney jeans/genes ad is continuing into a second week. As the pundit-driven talking head shows and talk radio hosts have a field day driving the controversy into a second week, American Eagle executives sit back and watch the dollars flow in!
American Eagle saw its stock price spike 24% in the days following the release of the ad. whatever they spent on the ad by itself, has been multiplied countless times by the free media generated from the controversy. All because the featured a hot blonde in their ad campaign. They never could have anticipated that the looney left would hyperventilate and respond with their ridiculous attacks, screeching “racism“ and “Nazi” in response to the ad. (Will the fact that Sweeney’s initials are SS be argued by MSNBC to justify their claim of a hidden Nazi connection?) But the relatively innocuous marketing team at American Eagle are not looking a gift horse in the mouth. Instead, they’re probably joking that it was the plan all along.
In the meme era when “viral happens” can rapidly produce amazingly good or amazingly bad results, this may ultimately rank as one of the best results ever.
When Bud Light decided to partner with Dylan Mulvaney and make the transgender influencer the face of their brand it cost them a staggering $395 million almost immediately. Some business estimates say the total cost of the continuing boycott of the brand exceeds $1.4 billion.
Meanwhile, American Eagle’s ad with Sydney Sweeney boosted its market value by up to $400 million! Their sales will continue and their entire brand is energized! It is difficult, if not impossible, to predict when something will result in viral fervor. When it is negative, companies need to have a rapid response team already in place to minimize the damage. When it is positive, as American eagle is experiencing, they need to be just as quick to capitalize up upon their good fortune.
The bottom line from the Sydney Sweeney ongoing story, proves that the woke agenda not only fails to sell but can actually destroy a brand. Another “win” as the MAGA inspired cultural shift in America continues.
Steve Gill is publisher of TriStar Daily and has long worked as a marketing and media commentator and consultant. He personally prefers Wrangler jeans, George Strait cowboy cut.
