American Eagle, Sydney Sweeney, and the Gamble On Audience Dissonance
The Internet exploded when the clothing brand American Eagle dropped an ad in July 2025 featuring the actress Sydney Sweeney, in which they did a very questionable pun with the tagline "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans" and the phrases said by Sweeney in a whispery voice: "Genes are passed down from parents… My jeans are blue" and "great genes." The backlash was instant within the media and the public alike, calling out the wordplay as more than just clever and quirky, and highlighting the racist and white supremacist nuance of the campaign, as Sweeney is a conventionally attractive, blue-eyed and blonde white woman.
However, all this controversial reception diverted people’s attention from the primary goal this campaign had (I think?) To sell jeans to American Eagle's main audience of teens and tweens. Following my hypothesis of American Eagle just wanting to sell jeans, we are going to explore why their campaign failed, and we're going to compare it to GAP's "Better in Denim" ad that was released, coincidentally, a few weeks later and had a very different outcome.
A Polarizing Reception
The critics from the academic world have described the ad "a white supremacist fantasy," a "wink at the obsession with eugenics that's so prevalent among the modern right," or an example of how brands are "invested in re-presenting the wholesomeness and sanctity of conservative white values," just to quote a few. On the other hand, right-wing politicians like US senator Ted Cruz commented over an article repost “Wow. Now the crazy Left has come out against beautiful women. I’m sure that will poll well ...” and President Donald Trump approved and praised the ad after knowing Sydney is a registered republican saying on his social media platform, Truth Social, "Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the 'HOTTEST' ad out there. It's for American Eagle, and the jeans are 'flying off the shelves.' Go get 'em, Sydney!"
The right-wing enthusiasm over the campaign has turned Sydney into a sort of icon among conservatives.
As for the public, the reaction was just as polarizing. The ones who rejected the campaign’s execution called it “fascist propaganda,” or said "Getting a blue-eyed, blonde, white woman… focusing your campaign around her having perfect genetics feels weird…“, while others commented “It’s just an ad for jeans.”
So, does the old idiom "Any publicity is good publicity" apply in this case? Not necessarily. Especially in cases of audience dissonance.
Audience Dissonance: Lost in Translation or Tone-Deaf?
This marketing and communications concept, related to the cognitive dissonance theory, describes the mental discomfort that a person can feel when their actions don't align with their beliefs. In the case of audience dissonance, it happens when the message sent by a brand or any entity communicating to a target audience doesn't align with the audience's expectations, values and beliefs, or lived experiences. This mismatch creates internal conflict, tension, confusion, or (like in American Eagle's case) backlash instead of resonance.
Audience dissonance has its pros and cons and, unlike its cognitive counterpart, can be used deliberately in many areas involving communication, such as public speaking and politics, activism, audiovisual arts and, of course, marketing. Let's take a look at both sides of this psychological tool:
Pros:
Buzz and clout: Whether people align with the message or not, they’ll talk.
Challenges people's beliefs: A message that clashes with expectations and how people see the world can make people stop, think, and reconsider their beliefs.
Sets the brand apart: Standing apart from "the comfort zone" or predictable messaging can make a brand look bold.
Fosters brand loyalty: Even if some reject the message, the people who resonated with it can become new customers or deepen the loyalty of the existing ones.
Cons:
Backlash: As I mentioned above, if the message lands as tone-deaf, offensive, or manipulative, it can cause outrage or reputational damage.
Loss of trust: When people feel misled, stereotyped, ignored, or insulted, the brand loses credibility for them and actively rejects it.
Message dilution: Controversy can overshadow the original intent of the message and make people talk more about the negative aspect instead of the product.
Long-term negative sentiment: Buzz causes big and sudden spikes (online and foot traffic, stock price, media coverage), but often fades quickly. However, lingering negative brand sentiment can hurt in the long run.
The Aftermath
If we extrapolate this to the case we’re discussing, American Eagle is a textbook audience dissonance case. Here’s a recap of their results so far:
They had instant backlash in several parts of the world. Especially in the US, where not only do they have their strongest customer base, but it's also in the middle of an agitated political moment in which discussions about racism are prevalent.
After the campaign's polemic reception, American Eagle posted on Instagram to "clarify" the ad's intention and insisted the campaign was "always about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story." This attempt to stop the message dilution didn't seem to work, as the post is no longer available.
The company stood firm with its intention to continue the “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” campaign. “Sydney will be part of our team as we get into the back half of the year, and we’ll be introducing new elements of the campaign as we continue forward,” said their Chief Marketing Officer, Craig Brommers.
Sweeney’s collab jeans with the brand sold out within a week, and their store sales saw a 3% increase during August (the campaign and collab American Eagle launched almost in parallel, featuring NFL player Travis Kelce, alongside his recent engagement to Taylor Swift, also helped).
Stocks have had a boost right after the ad release with a dent in August, but they’re going up as I’m writing. As for the sales, the company claimed they have 700,000 new customers.
The message clashed with many people’s beliefs, but most likely didn’t make them reconsider their views on racism.
Many people felt insulted, especially, of course, people of colour. Will these people consider buying good jeans (pun intended) from American Eagle again? Only time will tell.
In conclusion, American Eagle's gamble on audience dissonance worked: The slight initial dip was just the prelude of a recharge in demand, boosted visibility and their stocks, and attracted a flood of new customers.
The Viability of Audience Dissonance
Deliberately making your audience uncomfortable to make a statement and sell isn’t for everyone, and a company without the size and backing of American Eagle probably couldn’t pull a campaign like this. However, there are still ways and situations to use this approach to push your audience’s buttons without alienating or shaming them:
Shock value & virality: This one explains itself if you read this far. Campaigns that intentionally clash with audience expectations can spark controversy and conversations, but this will only work if the company can handle the backlash and wants awareness over approval.
You want to challenge the status quo: Your product or service requires people to rethink ingrained habits or industry norms, and an audience dissonance message may help to make them challenge what they do and tolerate, if the message is aligned with the brand identity. For example, plant-based meal brands can highlight the dissonance between people's love for animals and their animal-based consumption to make them uncomfortable with their habits and incentivize a change of habits.
Shedding light on contradicting values and behaviour: If your audience says they care about something (health and fitness, sustainability, fairness, financial health) but their actions don’t match, you can spotlight that gap. Fitness apps showing the dissonance between wanting to be fit and the reality of a sedentary lifestyle can help give people the last push they need to start physical activity.
Showing your audience they’re settling for less: If you know your audience is content with the offer in your industry, but you have something to show them they're wrong, do it making them feel that they deserve more (not that they're dumb for not noticing or make them think they've lived under a rock! Nobody likes smarty-pants) A tech company showing the frustration of slow devices compared to the ease of their faster alternative, like Apple does when putting their Mac against a Microsoft PC (my favourite marketing example, even if it doesn’t work on me, but I digress.)
You’re ready to follow the campaign through consistently: If a brand tries a bold, dissonant move once and never again, it feels like a gimmick or a clickbait stunt. Audiences won’t trust it as part of the brand’s real identity and won’t take you seriously in future campaigns.
You’re strategic in who it alienates vs. attracts: You can't please everyone, and a message that's intentionally made to provoke discomfort will mean accepting that some people won't like you. The key is ensuring the people who do connect are your target audience.
A Masterclass in Risky Dissonance
Despite the backlash, American Eagle’s intentional, but cringey pun that blurred too close to accidental tone-deafness and objectification worked because in a world ruled by social media controversy, brands can boost visibility in levels we still have to grasp fully. American Eagle suddenly had far more people talking about them than a safe campaign would have achieved, and even if people mocked the ad, many still went to check out the jeans.
Also, younger audiences are more forgiving and have shorter attention spans. The product quality and trend alignment with looser fits and Y2K-inspired design were enough to put any bad mouth taste aside and buy a pair of jeans because denim is having a cultural renaissance, marked by the return of Western-inspired fashion, and the need for practical and versatile clothes amidst the current economic and political scenario post-pandemic.
However, shortly after the initial post-ad turmoil had started to dissipate, GAP released its own jeans commercial and had a very different approach and reception. We'll explore this case in our next blog.