Trump Joins the Jeans Ad Controversy
Publicly Supports a Registered Republican
Stock Price Surges 24% Intraday
On August 4 (local time), the stock price of American Eagle, a US apparel company that faced criticism for its jeans advertisement being reminiscent of racism or eugenics, surged following public support from President Donald Trump. Originally intended as a promotional campaign for jeans, the advertisement attracted significant media attention and investor interest due to the controversy and President Trump's remarks.
On this day, President Trump posted on his own social networking service (SNS), Truth Social, saying, "The latest ad featuring actress Sydney Sweeney is the hottest ad right now," adding, "It's an American Eagle ad, and jeans are flying off the shelves. Go Sydney!"
In his post, President Trump mentioned that Sweeney is a "registered Republican." While Sweeney herself has never publicly disclosed her political orientation, Bloomberg News reported that, according to Florida voter registration records from 2024, a person with the same name and date of birth is registered as a Republican.
Buoyed by President Trump's endorsement, American Eagle's stock price soared as much as 24% during intraday trading, marking the largest single-day gain since July 12. The stock, which had fallen 36% year-to-date as of last week's closing price, rebounded sharply in a single day.
In July, American Eagle launched its campaign with the slogan, "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans." In one of the campaign videos, Sweeney, while putting on jeans, says, "Genes are passed from parents to children and determine hair color, personality, and eye color," then adds, "My jeans are blue," showing her blue eyes to the camera.
On July 23, the day the advertisement was released, American Eagle's stock price rose on the news of Sweeney's involvement. However, some critics argued that the focus on the "genes" of a white, blonde woman was reminiscent of eugenics. As a result, some of the stock's gains were reversed. On the other hand, some argued that the advertisement was being excessively interpreted.
MarketWatch analyzed, "The ad campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney has drawn intense attention?something companies usually try to avoid?because some critics said it was reminiscent of eugenics," adding, "However, judging by the stock price movement alone, American Eagle Outfitters seems to be proving the old adage that all publicity is good publicity."
The company stated last week, "This advertisement has been about jeans from start to finish, and in the future, we will continue to show people confidently wearing American Eagle jeans in their own way."
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