Poll Shows Limited Backlash to American Eagle’s Sidney Sweeney Campaign

A recent YouGov poll indicates that most Americans appear unfazed by American Eagle’s new advertising campaign featuring actress Sidney Sweeney. This isn’t particularly surprising, as much of the backlash seems to stem from older leftist critics who have a strong opinion about Sweeney.

YouGov has Sweeney data. 12% of Americans feel aggressive. The gender gap is greater than the political gap about whether ads are “aggressive” (7% of men, 17% of women). Men are also more likely to find advertising “smart” (49% of men and 31% of women). pic.twitter.com/smqgswm66s

– Jordan (@williamjordann) August 12, 2025

The poll reveals that just 12% of Americans felt “aggressive” about the ads, which feels reasonable. If you spend enough time reading the opinions on MSNBC or browsing LGBT threads on Reddit, you’d likely find the ads are quite normal. They may not be particularly clever nor offensive, but they utilize tried-and-true advertising techniques.

Just In: American Eagle refuses to apologize in a new statement posted on Instagram after facing backlash from Sidney Sweeney ads. The new statement is already filled with more repulsion from angry liberals. “It was full of ‘Sydney Sweeney has some great jeans’…” pic.twitter.com/xovk12q65t

– Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 1, 2025

An analysis of the responses indicates that 7% of men felt aggressive, compared to 17% of women. It’s a bit surprising to see these figures. I assume that the actual percentage of men isn’t much above 1%, and it seems likely that women who take offense may be closer to 40%—perhaps out of envy toward Sweeney rather than due to the ad’s play on “genes” and “jeans.”

But really, who are these 7% of men? They likely fit into a certain mold: maybe they’re gay, liberal, or work in media or politics, or perhaps they’re just caught up with a liberal partner.

It’s hard to believe that an average straight man would find these ads aggressive. It just doesn’t seem plausible.