American Eagle Sydney Sweeney jeans campaign controversy powered by AI driven social media manipulation

When American Eagle launched a 2025 campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney with the tagline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” it sparked a reputation crisis. 

Most recently, Dr. Phil McCraw weighed in with his take.

The TV personality appeared on an episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, which saw the titular host say: "Sydney Sweeney came out as - not came out - she was exposed as a Republican. And she has the big jeans ad that was controversial. And they reported this like it was a scandal, [that] she's a Republican. I just got to say this is not where I want America to go. It is not a slur that someone is a Republican."

"For people to go crazy over that ad [that says] 'she's got good genes,' and for them to say that's the equivalent of the Holocaust, is an absolute insult," McCraw added. "Six million people were killed. Six million Jews were massacred and murdered, and they equate that to a blue jeans ad for a Hollywood actress? What an insult."

He continued, "That is ridiculous. I'm gonna go out and buy those jeans for every woman in my family, everybody I know just to show support."

TikTok

The backlash has been amplified by fake TikTok profiles, according to Cyabra research.

"What we found out about American Eagle Outfitters' Sydney Sweeney campaign is wild - 15% fake profiles, 77,000 engagements, 4,000% spike in negative sentiment in just seven days. The shift from positive buzz to full blown crisis happened in only 36 hours," says Dan Brahmy, Co-founder and CEO at Cyabra.   

"The coordination, linguistic patterns, and posting velocity all point to one thing: this was powered by LLMs. This is what modern, AI driven manipulation looks like - fast, targeted, and devastating for brand reputation."

Two competing narratives emerged during the analysis:

1. Accusations of racism: Clains that “Great Jeans“, which was a deliberate wordplay on “genes” was promoting racial superiority, intentionally paired with Sweeney’s appearance. 

2. Anti-woke support: The campaign was seen as a deliberate rejection of “woke” advertising approaches by American Eagle. 

Cyabra’s analysis identified a clear three stage progression of the crisis:

Phase one: initial positive reception (23rd-24th July)

The campaign launched to widespread approval. User enthusiasm over Sweeney’s casting was reflected in positive social sentiment and a rise in American Eagle’s stock price.

Phase two: sentiment shift (25th-26th July)

The tone subtly began to change. While positive sentiment still dominated, critical voices emerged questioning the intent behind the campaign’s messaging. Early concerns about the slogan started gaining attention.

Phase three: backlash surge (27th-29th July)

Negative posts significantly outpaced positive mentions. Accusations escalated dramatically, with widespread claims that American Eagle was promoting racism. Calls for boycotts became common, driving a sharp wave of harmful sentiment.

The polarised response created a complex challenge for American Eagle, as responding to one narrative risked alienating supporters of the opposing viewpoint. The primary harmful narrative interpreted the campaign’s slogan as promoting racist ideologies and reinforcing outdated beauty standards emphasising whiteness.

Meanwhile, the counter-narrative expressed support for what they described as a “normal” ad, praising American Eagle for what they perceived as moving away from “woke” advertising approaches.

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

AI will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards. which are now open for entries, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.