The inside story of Sydney Sweeney's 'Great Jeans' — and why American Eagle ignored crisis comms episode artwork

EPISODE · Oct 24, 2025 · 42 MIN

The inside story of Sydney Sweeney's 'Great Jeans' — and why American Eagle ignored crisis comms

from Mixed Signals from Semafor Media · host Semafor Podcasts

American Eagle’s summer campaign with Sydney Sweeney blew up in ways no one could’ve imagined – but chief marketing officer, Craig Brommers, knew they were going to hit a cultural nerve. This week, Ben and Max bring on the AE CMO to give us an inside look into the “Great Jeans” campaign, what he made of the controversy that surrounded it, and how Donald Trump and JD Vance boosted their sales. They also discuss how marketing today is like running an entertainment company, why he ignored the advice of what he calls the “crisis communication industrial complex,” and whether their campaign with Travis Kelce was timed to Kelce’s engagement to Taylor Swift. Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media  For more from Think with Google, check out ThinkwithGoogle.com. Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltani If you have a tip or a comment, please email us [email protected]

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Oct 24, 2025

Embed this episode

Ready to play

The inside story of Sydney Sweeney's 'Great Jeans' — and why American Eagle ignored crisis comms

0:00 42:26

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Mixed Signals from Semafor Media?

This episode is 42 minutes long.

When was this Mixed Signals from Semafor Media episode published?

This episode was published on October 24, 2025.

Can I download this Mixed Signals from Semafor Media episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!