The firm's stocks surged 25% in after-hours trading last Wednesday as its boss Jay Schottenstein said its second-quarter performance "exceeded expectations", forecasting further success from sales boosted by its viral advertising campaigns.

American Eagle made headlines with a divisive "Great Jeans" ad for its denim line featuring Sweeney, sparking a debate over race and beauty standards. The firm also announced a collaboration with athlete Kelce, just after news broke of his engagement to popstar Taylor Swift. Sales slipped 1% over May-July period, after sliding 5% in the previous quarter, the company said last Wednesday.

But executives, who had pulled the firm's annual sales forecast in May citing economic uncertainty, said they now expected sales growth in coming months in the "low single digits", as purchases of everything from denim to underwear increase. The autumn season is off to a positive start, said Mr Schottenstein. "Fuelled by stronger product offerings and the success of recent marketing campaigns with Sydney Sweeney and Travis Kelce, we have seen an uptick in customer awareness, engagement and comparable sales."

The Emmy-nominated actress, of Euphoria fame, appears in a jeans advertisement where she says: "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour. My jeans are blue." The viral advertisement, which was seen online, on storefronts and posters and across social media, drew intrigue and offence. Some critics interpreted the ads as a play on eugenics, the discredited belief that humanity could be improved through selective breeding.

American Eagle has stuck by the advert, saying it is referring only to the company's denim jeans. The campaign had been intended to be a "reset" for the company, a long-time staple of teen fashion that entered the year in a sales slump, chief marketing officer Craig Brommers told financial analysts last Wednesday. The ad drew some 40 billion impressions and helped Sweeney's signature jeans selling out within a week of the campaign's launch. The controversy even made it to the White House, with President Donald Trump chiming in to support the actress. (BBC/ AEO Inc)