Sydney Sweeney’s controversial American Eagle ad

[lastpopicon 31,177]

15 minutes ago, Bronco said:

We tried to reach the nazis. We've spent near 80 years trying to build a society without taking the nazis out of it.

And look what happened- they used that time to rebuild and push for power in numerous nations. 

There is no reaching them. We tried. We failed. 

The Americans not only tried to reach them but succeed, one of them was even involved in Nasa's creation , Operation Paperclip was a great success for the times. 

[Bronco 11,747]

14 minutes ago, lastpopicon said:

The Americans not only tried to reach them but succeed, one of them was even involved in Nasa's creation , Operation Paperclip was a great success for the times. 

Yeah they successfully imported them and brought with their poison. 

They rehabilitated the image of these people, made it clear that criminality was fine if done in service to America. 

And here we are. A fascist government in the WH. Satellite parties and loyalists riding the tidal waves of that into power in multiple other nations. We see copy cat parties and leaders in every American ally, many of whom are 1 electoral cycle away from power and the moderates are scrambling to embrace their politics. 

Operation Paperclip was Hitler's biggest success. He made us become him. 

[lastpopicon 31,177]

1 minute ago, Bronco said:

Yeah they successfully imported them and brought with their poison. 

They rehabilitated the image of these people, made it clear that criminality was fine if done in service to America. 

And here we are. A fascist government in the WH. Satellite parties and loyalists riding the tidal waves of that into power in multiple other nations. We see copy cat parties and leaders in every American ally, many of whom are 1 electoral cycle away from power and the moderates are scrambling to embrace their politics. 

Operation Paperclip was Hitler's biggest success. He made us become him. 

 

Not only they rehabilitated them, they put them in high power positions, especially Wernher von Braun, the very foundations of nasa are built upon him, makes you think.  

But let's stop the off-topic cause there's a lot more to talk about   

__

About the ad, their goal was achieved, 

Despite the criticism — or perhaps driven by it — the financial impact of the campaign was notable. According to Vanity Fair, American Eagle sales have increased by 10% since the launch of advertising, with revenue of around 200 million dollars (around 174 million euros).

I think we are just easy to predict ngl, it's like free money for companies atp  

All the fortune 500 companies right now: write that eagle ad down! 

[Ladle Ghoulash 25,414]

1 hour ago, NCgaga said:

Actually Trump won because the increase in the Latino vote. 

Complex confluence of factors, but people’s perception of the economy definitely played more of a role than carrying more working class Latino voters 

[lastpopicon 31,177]

13 minutes ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

Complex confluence of factors, but people’s perception of the economy definitely played more of a role than carrying more working class Latino voters 

He won it by a thin margin tbf, 49% vs 47%, but a big 17% swing increase nevertheless.

the biggest swing is black man with +20%.

but at the end of the day doesnt really matter cause he won votes in every single demographic compared to 2020. 

I wonder if biden would actually do better lol

[Ladle Ghoulash 25,414]

Just now, lastpopicon said:

He won it by a thin margin tbf, 49% vs 47%, but a big 17% swing increase nevertheless.

the biggest swing is black man with +20%.

but at the end of the day doesnt really matter cause he won votes in every single demographic compared to 2020. 

I wonder if biden would actually do better lol

Yeah, I know you were being facetious, but that’s why I had to clock the “this is why Trump won” line. He barely won lmao. But tbh I don’t think Biden would’ve done better. His own internals showed Trump beating him with 400 EVs and he left office one of the most unpopular presidents of the 21st century. 

[lastpopicon 31,177]

1 minute ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

Yeah, I know you were being facetious, but that’s why I had to clock the “this is why Trump won” line. He barely won lmao. But tbh I don’t think Biden would’ve done better. His own internals showed Trump beating him with 400 EVs and he left office one of the most unpopular presidents of the 21st century. 

 

I just can't imagine biden doing worse ngl lol That first debate was awful though 

[HeAteMyh3art 1,179]

[Ladle Ghoulash 25,414]

6 minutes ago, lastpopicon said:

 

I just can't imagine biden doing worse ngl lol That first debate was awful though 

I surely can lmao. He was dragging the party down so bad Dem operatives thought they were gonna lose NEW JERSEY 

[Flippy 12,932]

Speaking of Latino voters voting for Dump, the lady who used to cut my hair told me she had voted for him because otherwise “Kamala would do more for black people than for anyone else” and that Dump was “gonna lower prices and he wouldn’t be able to do anything he wants because it first needs to pass The Supreme Court”… Little did she know  I didn’t see her since. I also couldn’t help but to feel bad because she was so misinformed but also, unwilling to listen to reason… As for someone who used to be my friend, he grew up in Alabama, also Latino and gay… oh! And a drag queen to top it off, however… Very actively a Dump supporter I don’t get it… Anyway, enough derailing the thread, I just hate this.

[PartySick 160,739]

1 hour ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

He barely won lmao.

God I so wish Trump won the popular vote but Harris would have won the EC

Imagine the implosion on the right

[Murakami27 4,885]

I've been questioning the sustainability of such virality. They have generated a lot of buzz and brand visibility with this campaign, but how it will translate into sales? What's the next step?

Business of Fashion has a write up about this. Some excerpts:
 

Spoiler

Winding up in the same sentence as "Nazi" is never a desirable outcome for a brand, and having the Trump administration in its corner may not sit well with American Eagle's mostly young, female customer base. But it's not a stretch to imagine the brand considers both the campaign and the backlash as major wins, even if it's unlikely to say so publicly.

After all, the controversy has inserted the brand at the heart of the zeitgeist for the first time in years. While the brand's performance has varied over the past few years - exceeding expectations at times in 2024 and then most recently withdrawing its annual forecast in May this year - it has failed to turn heads in the way competitors Abercrombie and Gap have.

American Eagle is playing with fire here, however. When brands get controversial, they'd better be sure the outrage they're stoking on some level aligns with their pre-existing image, and that their customers will have their backs.

American Eagle's job now is to figure out how the Sweeney campaign, and the response, fit into its brand as it exists today. For many years, the company's messaging towards women and girls typically leans into empowerment and inclusiveness. Pre-Sweeney collaborations include the series "The Summer I Turned Pretty" and tennis player Coco Gauff. Its intimates line Aerie was an early pioneer in body positive marketing in the category, and remains so today.

"American Eagle spent the past decade building significant brand equity around an inclusivity-oriented positioning... Following that with such a drastic reverse-course obviously left their young female customers blindsided," wrote Anu Lingala in her Substack newsletter "What's Anu."

Assuming the ads are a one-off, and not the start of an ill-advised pivot into early aughts Victoria's Secret territory, the odds are American Eagle will come out the other end of this stronger. The ad's most obvious reference, Calvin Klein's 1980 Brooke Shields ad, also sparked backlash, primarily around the sexualisation of the then-15-year-old Shields. In the end, though, "the controversy backfired," Shields said in a 2021 interview with Vogue.

In a world in which attention is the ultimate asset. American Eagle could reap similar benefits.

It also got me thinking about a recent episode of The Ezra Klein Show podcast where he discusses attention economy as capital:
 

Spoiler

I think attention is a precursor to power rather than a byproduct now. As you’re saying: The more attention that you can raise — narrative is a form of capital, memetic storytelling is really useful — you can build all of that around yourself, and then it makes getting into power a bit easier.

...There has to be an end goal. You can still use the framework of the attention economy to get people to that end goal. That’s what has to happen.

The bones are still important, and I think they’re not going away for a bit. The question will be: Where do they go from here? And you have to be able to send them somewhere.

As cliche as it may be, I suppose "All press is good press. No press is bad press" still rings true. AE went from not being talked about to being on everyone's lips now. They gained a lot of attention capital with this campaign and now everyone is looking to see what they do next, which ultimately was their goal.

These major campaigns are often done through agencies rather than in-house. Trust that this went through many people. Without a doubt they anticipated the buzz and controversy this would generate and to get everyone talking.

Another excerpt from BOF:

Spoiler

"Everyone is the main character in their own version of the internet ... everything can feel like a direct attack or provocation to you personally if it hits you the right way," said Molly Dwyer, director of insights at Peakmetrics. "It really activates people on both sides to insert themselves into the conversation."

 

Edited August 1 by Murakami27

[Emvee 8,413]

People really outed themselves by liking the posts that dismiss this as not that big of a deal. You’re part of the problem. 
 

But I’m really not surprised because white supremacy within the gay community is rampant. 

[ALGAYDO 32,708]

The way some of yall are so very obviously being purposely obtuse to this issues really just shows how there’s so many closeted racists casually walking amongst us lol crazy work but yall just keep showing them true colors 

[Ouranos 812]

It’s funny cause her ancestry is Irish,Scottish,English,German and French Canadian 

also the jeans aren’t made in America made in China,Vietnam,Bangladesh and Sri Lanka