Trump Faces 3rd Impeachment Threat

Another strand of criticism focused less on race and more on advertising aesthetics. Some fashion and cultural commentators argued that the campaign relied heavily on Sweeney’s sexuality, conventional attractiveness and the “male gaze,” and represented a broader return to older marketing techniques built around thinness, whiteness and sex appeal.

American Eagle did not retreat from the campaign. The company defended its slogan as being about jeans and continued using Sweeney in its marketing. The enormous publicity also had a measurable commercial upside: the campaign generated thousands of media stories, massive online attention and an initial jump in American Eagle’s share price.