‘It was always about the jeans’: American Eagle CMO opens up about Sydney Sweeney campaign backlash
The wordplay of 'jeans' and 'genes' was explicit in this outdoor creative
American Eagle’s top marketer Craig Brommers has hit back at backlash over the brand’s Sydney Sweeney “Just Jeans” campaign, calling the widespread criticism “absurd.”
Speaking on the Uncensored CMO podcast with Jon Evans, Brommers said he remains “dumbfounded” by the reaction — which centred on a perceived connection to eugenics — that saw the campaign pulled from some channels, insisting “it was always about the jeans.”
Brommers dismissed suggestions that the campaign’s wordplay on “jeans” and “genes” was intentionally designed to hook into race or genetics, saying the implications “didn’t come up at all” during audience testing.
“I am still a little bit dumbfounded because I think the claims are absurd, and I think a vast majority of Americans understand that the claims are absurd,” Brommers told Evans. “It was always about the jeans, and this was Sydney’s story in her jeans.
“It was a curveball that we didn’t see coming and certainly created another interesting narrative in the launch of the campaign.”
The autumn campaign, dubbed “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans”, was American Eagle’s most expensive campaign to date and timed for the US back-to-school season.
Released on July 23, the campaign rolled out across major placements, including high-impact billboards in New York’s Times Square and along Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip, an animated feature on the Las Vegas Sphere, and a now-controversial online video series.
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In one of the most talked-about videos, Sweeney says: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring,” before looking directly into the camera and adding: “My jeans are blue.”
Another spot took the wordplay further, striking through the word “genes” and replacing it with “jeans.”
Brommers said the team anticipated “some response” given the campaign’s scale and Sweeney’s profile as its star, but admitted they “didn’t expect” the level of scrutiny that followed.
“When you cast someone like Sydney Sweeney, you know it’s going to be in the spotlight. Sydney is a cross-generational talent, she appeals to both genders, she is someone who dresses up – there is not a red carpet that does not love Sydney Sweeney,” he explained.
“But she also feels like the girl next door and very relatable. She likes to work on cars; she loves to be in the outdoors. There is no doubt that she is the it girl in the US in 2025, and after this campaign, the it girl of the globe.”
Brommers is a seasoned fashion retail marketer, working for brands including Calvin Klein, Abercrombie & Fitch and Gap, before joining American Eagle in 2020.
He added that ultimately the response was beyond the brand’s “wildest dreams … and was certainly the most fascinating eight weeks in my professional life.”
One notable figure who weighed in on the backlash was President Trump, who wrote on Truth Social in early August to declare: “Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the HOTTEST ad out there. Go get ‘em Sydney!”
Brommers said American Eagle decided to stand firm amid the controversy, crediting “1,000% support” from the CEO and board. He also noted that the company’s stock performance and sales remained strong throughout the campaign’s run.
“It almost felt like I was living in alternate universes because on one side, we’re looking at very encouraging business performance, customer performance and advertising performance
“But in the other universe, you’re hearing all the noise in social media, and the mainstream press is beginning to pick it up as well. And so, the two universes didn’t honestly compute in my mind.”
Ultimately, Brommers said, “American Eagle potentially won this jeans season” thanks to the “interesting story” the campaign sparked and the significant sales lift that followed.
“We gained one million new customers in the course of those six weeks,” he told the podcast.” “That’s unheard of — unprecedented.”
“The reality is, this was always supposed to be a talent partnership,” he added. “And to [Sweeney’s] credit, she stuck with us, and you know, you better be damn certain that we were going to stick with her.”
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