American Eagle said the campaign was always about its clothing and not race when responding to criticism. A month later retail rival The Gap put out its own ad featuring girl group KATSEYE. That ad received some praise for its inclusivity.
Gap chief executive Richard Dickson, speaking on Thursday at a Goldman Sachs global retail conference in New York City, said its “Better in Denim” campaign received 400 million total views and in three days had more views than the brand’s four prior ads combined.
“I think when the industry creates campaigns that are talked about, it generates interest in the industry,” Dickson said in an interview with The Associated Press.
“Our current campaign, Better in Denim, is a great example of that.”
Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, wrote that the frenzy around the Sweeney campaign was something of a “tempest in a teacup”.
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“While it generated strong reactions, it ultimately had no serious detrimental impact on sales,” he said. “Indeed, guidance for the second half points to improved momentum, supported by both the denim marketing and the ongoing Travis Kelce partnership.”
And attention from the Sweeney campaign doesn’t seem to have hurt the brand.
“Regardless of the merits of the collaborations, making more noise is exactly what American Eagle needs to do to cut through and regain ground among consumers for whom it had slipped off the radar, Saunders said.
For the second quarter, American Eagle’s revenue dipped 1 per cent to $US1.28 billion.
Chief marketing officer Craig Brommers said on Wednesday that the Sweeney ad campaign would continue.
American Eagle Outfitters just had its best day on Wall Street in 25 years after Donald Trump praised its ad campaign starring Sydney Sweeney.
“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,” he said.
Shares of American Eagle Outfitters are up 10 per cent this year with the latest surge.
