- Foot traffic at American Eagle stores significantly decreased in the weeks following the launch of a controversial advertising campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney.
- The 'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans' campaign faced widespread criticism for allegedly promoting eugenic ideals through wordplay on 'jeans' and 'genes', and for perceived racist undertones.
- The controversy intensified after Sweeney's Republican voter registration became public, leading to figures like JD Vance, Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump defending her.
- Data from Pass_by revealed a 9 percent drop in American Eagle's foot traffic during the week of August 3-9 compared to the same period last year, a larger decline than some competitors.
- American Eagle maintained that the ad was solely about jeans, while Sweeney has not publicly commented on the backlash.
IN FULL