The news: American Eagle’s Sydney Sweeney and Travis Kelce campaigns helped get eyes on the brand but failed to deliver the sales lift analysts were expecting.

• The two campaigns combined generated over 44 billion impressions, Jennifer Foyle, the president and creative director for American Eagle and Aerie, said on the company’s Q3 earnings call.
• But comparable sales for the American Eagle brand rose just 1% YoY in the quarter, missing expectations for 2.1% growth—although that was an improvement from declines in the previous two quarters.

Overall, total Q3 revenues and profit topped expectations, largely due to strong performance at underwear brand Aerie.

Behind the numbers: Executives stressed that the controversial Sweeney campaign met its primary goal: to get attention and attract more customers to the brand. While it drove sales—notably, the jeans she wore in the ad sold out in two days—it appears to have delivered a more modest lift than other celebrity-led denim campaigns at Gap and Levi’s.

• Gap reported double-digit growth in its denim business following its viral ad featuring Katseye, while Levi’s saw a 12% increase in womenswear sales after launching the final installment of its partnership with Beyoncé.
• American Eagle’s merchandising missteps hurt performance: The company significantly underestimated demand for its top-selling styles and bet heavily on shorts demand that didn’t materialize.

Still, these results haven’t dampened American Eagle’s enthusiasm for celebrity campaigns: The company tapped Martha Stewart to front its holiday ads, and teased more initiatives intended to drive “brand excitement.”

The lesson: Ultimately, American Eagle’s record Q3 revenues owed less to the high-visibility Sweeney ad and more to strong execution at its Aerie brand, where comparable sales rose 11%.

While buzzy celebrity-led campaigns can help revive brand perception, their impact will be fleeting if companies’ merchandising and product availability fall short.

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