Mixed Signals from Semafor Media The inside story of Sydney Sweeney's 'Great Jeans' — and why American Eagle ignored crisis comms
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Oct 24, 2025 Craig Brommers, the Chief Marketing Officer of American Eagle and former CMO at Calvin Klein, dives deep into the whirlwind around the 'Great Jeans' campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney. He reveals how they anticipated hitting a cultural nerve and opted for bold marketing instead of common crisis communication strategies. The conversation touches on unexpected boosts from political figures like Trump, the immediate impact on sales, and the partnership with Travis Kelce. Brommers emphasizes the fine line between marketing attention and controversy, seeking memorable engagement.
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Treat Brand As An Entertainment Channel
- Craig Brommers says American Eagle aimed to create the "IT" jeans campaign of 2025 by partnering with an IT girl, Sydney Sweeney.
- They chose bold creative to cut across culture and program the brand like an entertainment channel.
Stock Reacted Immediately To The Campaign
- On day one the stock jumped ~25% after Sydney's casting and jumped again after presidential comment.
- Brommers later joined an earnings call where the stock rose 38%, which he called jaw-dropping.
Data Outweighed Social Noise
- Brommers describes living in parallel universes: negative social media noise versus positive customer and sales data.
- He relied on real-time metrics (customer, advertising, business) rather than chatter to guide decisions.