Sydney Sweeney controversial American Eagle jeans ad has a Republican vs Democrat divide

A new American Eagle jeans ad featuring actress Sydney Sweeney has sparked a sharp divide among young Americans, according to a recent poll, highlighting how fashion campaigns can become lightning rods in today’s culture wars.

The outdoor campaign, prominently displayed outside an American Eagle store in New York, features Sweeney in denim with the tagline, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” The ad has ignited debates over “wokeness,” beauty standards, and race.

Partisan Divide

• A Generation Lab poll of 1,289 undergraduate and graduate students conducted from August 7–11, 2025, found clear partisan splits in reactions to the campaign.
  

• 64 percent of Democrats said the ad felt out of touch, compared with 39 percent of Republicans.
  

• 38 percent of Republicans found the ad authentic, compared with just 10 percent of Democrats.
  

• 42 percent of Democrats said the ad made them less likely to buy American Eagle jeans, while 16 percent of Republicans and 28 percent of Independents reported the same.
  

Gender differences

The survey also revealed differences in perception between young men and women, as 39 percent of young women, the ad’s primary demographic, said they were less likely to purchase the jeans, compared with 21 percent of men.

63 percent of young women felt the ad was out of touch, versus 44 percent of young men.

Despite a heated online debate, only a small fraction of respondents believed the campaign promoted eugenics through its play on “jeans” and “genes”: 10 percent of women and 8 percent of men said the ad was endorsing genetic superiority. Among political groups, 13 percent of Democrats, 5 percent of Republicans, and 8 percent of Independents agreed with this criticism.

American Eagle’s stock jumped after Trump publicly praised the ad, demonstrating how controversial campaigns can drive both discussion and investor attention.

"Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the HOTTEST ad out there," he wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday. "Go get 'em, Sydney!"