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November 28, 2025
Is American Eagle’s ‘Give Great Jeans’ Follow-Up With Martha Stewart a Good Idea?
Following the controversial, yet acclaimed by American Eagle as very successful, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” ad campaign which dominated headlines for months this past summer, the fashion brand is showing its commitment to the messaging with its latest push.
As Retail Dive editor Jessica Hammers noted in a breakdown of AE’s holiday “Give Great Jeans” campaign – one which features celebrity chef and lifestyle icon Martha Stewart – it appears that celebrity crossovers, and a doubling-down on the game plan, are still part of the retailer’s overall strategy.
“’Martha Stewart Does the Holidays in American Eagle’ sees the apparel brand embrace a multigenerational audience of both gift givers and recipients. That goal is achieved through the presence of Stewart, who is easily recognized by older and younger generations alike, explained Chief Marketing Officer Craig Brommers,” Hammers wrote, going on to quote Brommers verbatim.
“Gen Z’s watching her on TikTok, mom is watching her on Instagram, grandma is watching her on ‘The Today Show.’ There’s not a place that people aren’t experiencing and loving Martha,” Brommers stated.
The “Give Great Jeans” campaign began in earnest in September, hot on the heels of the Sydney Sweeney blitz that generated a sky-high level of buzz around American Eagle. Critics accused the ad, and later Sweeney herself, of being tone-deaf to concerns around the jeans / genes double entendre, while others enjoyed the ad – and Brommers counted himself among the latter when discussing the Sweeney campaign’s most vital deliverable.
“The American Eagle Sydney Sweeney campaign was intended to be a brand and business reset, and it has. To be clear, that consumer acquisition is coming from every single county in the U.S. This momentum is national, and it is pervasive,” Brommers said during a Q2 earnings call.
American Eagle Brings Martha Stewart to the Fore, Cementing its Celebrity-Focused Strategy
In the kick-off piece of media attached to the American Eagle x Martha Stewart ad roster, Stewart appears clad in a baggy denim shirt and is backgrounded by an array of muted teal cabinets, Christmas décor, and accessories all in complimentary hues.
“This holiday season we’re settling for nothing less than a perfect fit,” Stewart says to open the 30-second spot. She then pulls a length of denim fabric from a nearby roll and gets to work, cutting and sewing that fabric around an American Eagle-branded gift box, complete with fashionable bow.
“There, seamless,” she adds, following a satisfactory inspection of her work.
“This gift is giving. Giving generously during the holiday season is one of my greatest joys,” Stewart says, ending the ad.
Given the previous partnerships with Sweeney and NFL star Travis Kelce, American Eagle’s belief in star power is cemented by this holiday-themed collab starring the widely known Martha Stewart.
“I feel like when you’re a retail CMO now, you’re basically programming a streaming series. You have main characters, and when people tune in, they know the general plot line. But it’s important to bring in guest stars, it’s important to have a plot twist, it’s important to create a sense of urgency,” Brommers suggested.
Reaffirming the aforementioned point about Gen Z appeal, AE believes Stewart might resonate cross-generationally:
“The campaign was informed by an E-Poll study which found that Stewart’s name and image awareness among Gen Z grew by 33% between 2020 to 2024 and is now on par with millennials,” Hammers highlighted.
Discussion Questions
Is bringing in Martha Stewart as part of a celebrity-focused campaign a wise move, in your opinion? How about sticking to the original brand messaging around “great genes”?
Do you believe that the controversy has mostly died down surrounding American Eagle’s ad campaign? If so, will a new ad spot featuring another well-known celebrity reignite debate?
Poll
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First, let’s be clear that, while controversial to some, the Sydney Sweeney campaign did more good than harm to American Eagle – it won them new customers and helped drive sales. Second, Martha Stewart is an icon – to all generations – so I see no harm in using her as the face of marketing. Indeed, it will probably help American Eagle to cut through as it’s a bit different and interesting.
There should have never been “controversy” about American Eagle’s deployment of Sydney Sweeny for the first ad, and I am not too sure there ever was. Prejudice and bigotry comes in many forms, and in this case, it for pretty blonde women with blue eyes.
Martha Stewart is an excellent choice for the next ad, due to notoriety, credibility, image, and alternative age-target.
The only possible “debate” is that Martha is also Caucasian, which appears to be a race-based prejudice. Interestingly, according to certain surveys, the prejudice stems not from people of color, but more-so from white people who dislike white people. Go figure.
I don’t know the wisdom of it, but it hardly seems to have much in common: Martha is no Sydney….make of that what you will.
And Sydney is no Martha.
I think bringing Martha Stewart into the latest American Eagle denim campaign is a smart, deliberate move. After the uproar around the “great jeans / great genes” campaign with Sydney Sweeney, Stewart offers a way to recalibrate the brand’s tone: familiar, multigenerational, and with a legacy appeal that reinforces denim as universal rather than divisive. Martha’s persona — grounded in everyday life, home, and a broad audience — helps American Eagle pivot toward inclusivity and away from controversy, which is exactly what the brand needs.
That said, I also believe that sticking to — or at least preserving — the original brand messaging around “great jeans” (instead of playing on “genes”) remains important. The core value for customers is that the jeans fit well, look good, and make people feel confident — regardless of celebrity endorsement. That should remain the foundation. Celebrity tie-ins, like Martha Stewart’s work, amplify the core message rather than supplant it.
Yes — I suspect this new ad spot will reignite debate, but honestly, I don’t think it should. Debate is almost inevitable in today’s hyper-sensitive social media environment, especially when a brand is already under the spotlight. But what matters is whether the marketing aligns with a sincere, inclusive brand purpose — not that it avoids all controversy. If American Eagle keeps the message simple, focuses on the product (denim for everyone), and respects diverse audiences, then the noise shouldn’t derail what could be a smart holiday campaign.
This ad shows Martha Stewart being Martha Stewart. It’s clever. And it’s safe.
American Eagle missed an opportunity to feature Martha wearing its jeans because Martha Stewart is timeless. And American Eagle makes great jeans that flatter more than Sydney Sweeney’s generation.
Featuring Martha Stewart is way more than a good idea…it’s BRILLIANT…!!! It’s not just tongue-in-cheek marketing to a younger generation, it’s talking to a couple of older generations that would never otherwise even think about American Eagle. Is AEO signaling a shift to an older demographic? Broadening the age appeal certainly worked for ANF. Seems like a smart move for AEO to put their toe in the water.
I worked for AEO many years ago. I joined them from ANF (before they got weird). To say that those two retailers were focused on the teenage “cool kids” would be an understatement. Do teens still have the spending power that they used to have? Is that market more unpredictable these days based on the volatility that social media can cause? Will appealing to an older demographic help mitigate any of that? Again, it served ANF really well. I applaud AEO, if that’s where this is headed.
I am older than Sydney, younger than Martha, and have a closet full of AE jeans!