This week's news from the corporate sector showed that a form of old-school advertising was not only being unveiled, but it was becoming wildly embraced by both the public and the investment community. It is revealing how it was an eye-opening reality for some, and a nod-inducing result to many. It takes time to grasp that the concept of using a comely female with sex appeal could deliver favorable results, but for American Eagle Brands, this has been the result.
Actress Sydney Sweeney has been something of a polarizing figure in recent years as she has been more than willing to flaunt her feminine wiles and assets. Those on the left have decried this effort, and it has not done much to impact Sweeney’s expanding popularity. She has become a spokes model for various brands, including one that opened eyes this spring. The men’s hygiene company Dr. Squatch sold a soap bar allegedly made from Sweeney’s bath water. The latest partnership speculation is that she has pocketed $20 million.
It goes against every current ad trend
— Raph Pautard (@PautardR) July 25, 2025
No overproduced story, no big moral
And yet, it creates narrative through contrast, irony, and culture jacking
The internet runs with it
Sometimes, all you need is a good distribution plan, a Mustang, and a blonde in denim
5/5🧵
End of…
This is a reality that is building, as the new presidential term for Donald Trump has brought with it a new cultural mindset in the country. There has been a return to the cultural items that we used to take for granted, including gorgeous women positioned with products to boost sales. We are no longer bowing reflexively to any activist complaint that rears up. Accusations that used to put people on defense or quell any discourse - charges of sexism, misogyny, racism, bigotry, intolerance, et cetera - are now likely met with ridicule or dismissiveness. A realization has come over much of our culture: There is no negotiating with those hurling the accusations, as it rarely leads to a positive, or even neutral, result.
And companies might be starting to have a dawning about this reality.
Throughout the years, we here at RedState have catalogued a number of corporations that defied common-sense business practices in order to embrace woke promotions, including Disney, Gillette, a spice company, and even a major investment firm. The Boy Scouts of America were reduced to dust for cowing to the commands of woke activists. As we all know, Bud Light is the lighthouse of woke signaling debacles as it killed off its market dominance by partnering with Dylan Mulvaney. It is such an object lesson that now it is referenced as a punchline any time a new company rake-step effort is revealed.
RELATED: Whither Bud Light on the One-Year Anniversary of the Dylan Mulvaney Debacle?
What has been a common thread through the past years of these woke promotional examples is that many of them generated their share of media interest but fell short of parlaying that exposure into significant sales returns. What has taken corporations a long time to realize is that the loud activist cranks on social media are not a dependable customer base. Those who love to type out screeds and posture digitally about how a company should act are not as likely to vote with their wallets.
For years, there has been disregard for any ad campaigns featuring women in a sexy light. They were said to be objectifying females, body positivity was held up as the new female ideal, and of course, touting aggressively the trans movement was another factor. It is crudely ironic that the same people who freely describe anything they oppose as sexual aggression are the very same who promote the insertion of males into female spaces.
Companies have frequently failed to grasp that polarizing views do not deliver rewards. Much of the time, the people calling for some type of action by a business harbor resentment, with little in the form of supporting the change with their business. What ends up happening is you begin to bend to the will of those who are reluctant to give you your business. Additionally, you end up appealing to a small segment of the population to tap into for business, and moreover you run the probable risk of alienating your core audience.
What has led to this new change in the country has not been a business decision but a cultural one. The Biden presidency was one of divisiveness in the nation, and what was frequently displayed was not a reaching across the aisle but a fencing off of those who disagreed. What became realized was that this resentment welled up at the same time that the economy was worsening. So what was the motivation to appease those who were vocally antagonistic? As the woke set had displayed, any time you acquiesced or apologized, you were not to be embraced; it was regarded as a sign of guilt, and you remained a ridiculed figure.
For a year now, we have seen the mood of this country shifting. The assassination attempt on Donald Trump galvanized much of this nation and sparked this cultural shift. That attempt illustrated how those from the activist Left were not interested in coexistence; giving in only gives them more of an impetus, and it escalated to this level of threat. Pretty quickly, we began seeing the more aggressive pushing back on these woke activist efforts, disregarding their charges and even mocking their outrage. One common reaction seen to recent bouts of woke hysteria is to encourage the ragers to continue: “The common refrain has been, 'Keep it up; this is how Trump was re-elected!”
As a result, something happened; specifically, nothing negative happened. None of the promised adverse reactions were seen. The press that had blindly backed a decrepit President Biden and even blamed Trump for the attempt on his life was roundly ignored. The candidacy of Kamala Harris was ridiculed as it was sold as vibrant and vital. The election was a walkover, and the press, the Democrats, and the activist Left have been left behind. And now, as the Democrats are sinking in the polls, corporate America is beginning to change.
We saw during the Super Bowl how the fast food chain Carl’s Jr. was willing to revisit their past ad campaigns involving sultry models to sell their burgers, using influencer Alix Earle to promote its un-PC offering “The Hangover Burger”. Comedian Shane Gillis was run off of “Saturday Night Live” for jokes on a podcast deemed too un-woke and “offensive.” He was not only subsequently invited back on the show, but he was featured in his own Bud Light commercials.
Now we have a company willing to allow Sydney Sweeney to barely wear their clothing line. The resulting public perception? It has been an immediate success. The leaked commercial spots have lit up social media, and the company is experiencing an instant benefit. American Eagle had been losing tens of millions the past year, yet in a matter of days, the company saw its market cap swell on the announcement of this new campaign.
A single Syndey Sweeney ad campaign just created $416,449,000 in value for American Eagle in after hours trading. $AEO pic.twitter.com/sERXWz2qPp
— Daniel Foch (@daniel_foch) July 24, 2025
It has long been the maxim in advertising that “sex sells”. What we are seeing is a return to what has long been considered normalcy. The shift in our culture shows we are returning to what has long been the standard. Companies are being permitted to sell the way the public is accustomed to being pitched, as we shrug off the woke yoke forced on our shoulders for years.