Good Jeans, Bad Fit?

American Eagle’s new denim ad campaign has caused some chafing, but its stock has spread its wings and soared.

The millennial-loved fashion brand sparked controversy when it announced a partnership with actress Sydney Sweeney for its fall denim campaign, featuring the slogan: “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”

Critics were not laughing at the genes/jeans pun, claiming that pairing the slogan with a blonde-haired, blue-eyed actress was “racist” or supports eugenics—the belief that humanity can be “improved” through selective reproduction. Supporters are calling that criticism “woke” and “overblown,” and American Eagle says the slogan “is and always was about the jeans.” 

AE’s stock has noticed all the attention, climbing 23% on Monday—after President Trump called the campaign the “hottest ad out there”—before falling 8% yesterday.

(We’re also covering this story tomorrow in Decaf, The Pour Over for Families. Sign up—for free—here.)

ABOVE ALL, LOVE
The world has different priorities than followers of Jesus… which the Bible says is par for the course. God’s people don’t stand over the world looking down in judgment (1 Corinthians 5:9-13); we repent of our own sin before the Lord and love our neighbors radically.

“Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death… This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us.”
1 John 3:13-16 (CSB) (read full passage)