American Eagle saw its sales drop after a controversial ad featuring Sydney Sweeney sparked a positive reaction from President Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again base.
The Europhia actress made waves with her participation in a July ad for the clothing company. The ad used wordplay on “jeans” and “genes,” highlighting Sweeney’s physical appearance and saying she “has great jeans.”
While critics accused the ad of playing into eugenic ideals, that some genetic qualities are better than others, MAGA came to her defense.
Even Trump himself praised Sweeney when he found out she was a registered Republican, writing on social media she “has the ‘HOTTEST’ ad out there.”
“The jeans are ‘flying off the shelves,’” Trump wrote.
But that assessment of American Eagle sales was not reflected in its second quarter earnings released Wednesday.
Sales actually fell to $1.28 billion, slightly down from $1.29 billion the year before.
Still, American Eagle’s earnings beat Wall Street’s expectations of $1.24 billion in revenue, according to CNBC.
The company has celebrated Sweeney’s ad, as well as a product collaboration with Kansas City Chiefs Tight End Travis Kelce, who recently got engaged to singer Taylor Swift.
“The fall season is off to a positive start. Fueled by stronger product offerings and the success of recent marketing campaigns with Sydney Sweeney and Travis Kelce, we have seen an uptick in customer awareness, engagement and comparable sales,” American Eagle CEO Jay Schottenstein said in a statement Wednesday.
American Eagle stock spiked more than 20 percent in after-hours trading Wednesday. The stock has mostly gone up since late July when Sweeney’s ad rolled out.
The company has maintained the ad “is and always was about the jeans.”
“We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way,” American Eagle said in a previous statement. “Great jeans look good on everyone.”
