Copyright Adweek
American Eagle’s summer ad campaign starring Sydney Sweeney caused a lot of conversation — not all of it positive. To CMO Craig Brommers, the brand is still coming out ahead. Critics accused the campaign of being “pro-eugenics” through its wordplay around jeans and genes alongside its blonde-haired and blue-eyed main character, with some describing the messaging as a racist dogwhistle. Still, the apparel brand doubled down, arguing that it wasn’t about anything more than denim. Onstage at Brandweek 2025 in Atlanta, Brommers stuck to his guns yet again, making the case that most consumers approved of the ad and that some of the negativity on social media was driven by bot traffic. “The great news is that most Americans got the plot,” Brommers said. “The key takeaway for me is: Don’t blink. Don’t blink if you believe that your intentions were correct and were real, and if you’re looking at customer and business data that would indicate that you’re on the right path.” Brommers also argued that it’s harder than ever to make something that stands out, given the constant demands on consumers’ time and attention. Pointing to continued social conversation around the ad (Sharon Stone recently defended Sweeney on the red carpet at a Variety event), he described the campaign as succeeding where many are failing by being too safe, which makes for boring creative. “In our industry, the biggest enemy is boring. The biggest enemy right now is coming up with campaigns that literally look like nice wallpaper,” Brommers said. “We all know how to check the boxes to make something for everyone, but stand for nothing,” he continued. “We really need to put ourselves out there, challenge [ourselves] to have interesting campaigns that people talk about, discuss, and you may not have 100% positivity. That’s okay.”
