Sydney Sweeney and Travis Kelce Drove 700K New Customers for American Eagle

American Eagle took a risk on celebrity controversy, and the payoff just showed up in its sales numbers.

The retailer’s campaigns with Sydney Sweeney and Travis Kelce generated about 44 billion impressions.

They also drove more than 700,000 new customers across every county in the U.S., according to its Q3 2025 earnings call.

The results validate a high-risk marketing strategy that sparked intense backlash when it launched.

American Eagle hit record Q3 revenue of $1.36 billion, surpassing Wall Street's $1.32 billion forecast, while sales climbed 11%.

The numbers prove that brands willing to weather social media storms can still convert cultural moments into measurable growth when product quality backs up the hype.

Controversy Converted to Commerce

American Eagle's "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans" campaign was launched in July and sparked immediate controversy.

The ads played on the concept of "genes" and "jeans," and they feature the blonde-haired, blue-eyed actor.

Critics said this pairing reinforced exclusionary and white-centric beauty standards, showing how easily a playful concept can misfire when cultural cues aren’t considered.

Despite the public backlash, American Eagle doubled down.

The brand's signature Sydney Jacket sold out in one day.

And the Sydney Jean, a custom style that donated 100% of proceeds to the Crisis Text Line, also sold out within the same timeframe.

American Eagle followed up this campaign in August by partnering with NFL star Travis Kelce and his brand, Tru Kolors, on a 90-piece collection.

The timing couldn't have been better, as the collection was launched days after Kelce announced his engagement to Taylor Swift.

It drove three times more sales in one day than past collaborations did in a week, the company said.

This sequential strategy worked because American Eagle didn't wait for controversy to fade before launching the next campaign.

The brand kept its story moving, and the products continued to sell out as the attention was sustained.

Record-Breaking Holiday Performance

The celebrity campaigns translated directly into holiday retail sales momentum.

Jay Schottenstein, executive chair and CEO, highlighted the results during the Q3 earnings call.

"We delivered a record-breaking Thanksgiving weekend, led by an acceleration in demand across brands and channels."

Jennifer Foyle, president and ECD of the brand, also pointed to deeper customer engagement metrics beyond top-line sales.

"Customer loyalty grew 4% during the quarter," she added during the earnings call.

"Although it's still early days of our renewed marketing strategy, we know that having the right talent amplifies our brand and product at key moments."

The holiday surge proves American Eagle successfully converted viral moments into actual purchases.

American Eagle's strategy offers three lessons for brands that want to build celebrity partnerships:

• Treat early backlash as a signal to monitor, and let real customer behavior guide the response rather than social noise.
• Launch talent-driven campaigns when the audience is already paying attention, aligning drops with moments that naturally carry higher visibility.
• Move fast to turn first-time shoppers into repeat buyers, building follow-up touchpoints and product stories while interest is at its peak.

The results show that calculated risk-taking in marketing can still generate outsized returns when backed by products consumers actually want.

Our Take: Does Controversy Still Sell in 2025?

I think American Eagle has proved that strategic controversy works if the product delivers.

The 44 billion impressions matter less than the 700,000 new customers who actually bought something, and the sellouts suggest quality merchandise matched the hype.

However, I think the real test will be in Q4, as American Eagle will try converting buzz into sustained growth.

Controversy might get attention, but it doesn't guarantee sales, and brands should still proceed with caution.

Timing and execution are what turn buzz into actual revenue.

American Eagle also just featured Martha Stewart in its holiday content series, using the 84-year-old mogul's cross-generational trust to reset the brand's tone.

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