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Time of India
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Sydney Sweeney controversial American Eagle jeans ad has a Republican vs Democrat divide
A new American Eagle jeans ad featuring actress Sydney Sweeney has sparked a sharp divide among young Americans, according to a recent poll, highlighting how fashion campaigns can become lightning rods in today's culture wars. The outdoor campaign, prominently displayed outside an American Eagle store in New York, features Sweeney in denim with the tagline, 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.' The ad has ignited debates over 'wokeness,' beauty standards, and race. Partisan Divide by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Become Fluent in Any Language Talkpal AI Sign Up Undo A Generation Lab poll of 1,289 undergraduate and graduate students conducted from August 7–11, 2025, found clear partisan splits in reactions to the campaign. 64 percent of Democrats said the ad felt out of touch, compared with 39 percent of Republicans. 38 percent of Republicans found the ad authentic, compared with just 10 percent of Democrats. 42 percent of Democrats said the ad made them less likely to buy American Eagle jeans, while 16 percent of Republicans and 28 percent of Independents reported the same. Gender differences The survey also revealed differences in perception between young men and women, as 39 percent of young women, the ad's primary demographic, said they were less likely to purchase the jeans, compared with 21 percent of men. 63 percent of young women felt the ad was out of touch, versus 44 percent of young men. Live Events Despite a heated online debate, only a small fraction of respondents believed the campaign promoted eugenics through its play on 'jeans' and 'genes': 10 percent of women and 8 percent of men said the ad was endorsing genetic superiority. Among political groups, 13 percent of Democrats, 5 percent of Republicans, and 8 percent of Independents agreed with this criticism. American Eagle's stock jumped after Trump publicly praised the ad, demonstrating how controversial campaigns can drive both discussion and investor attention. "Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the HOTTEST ad out there," he wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday. "Go get 'em, Sydney!"
Axios
5 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
American Eagle's Sydney Sweeney ad divides young people: poll
There's a stark partisan divide in how young people are reacting to American Eagle's viral jeans ad featuring actress Sydney Sweeney. The big picture: The ad has sparked debates over 'wokeness,' beauty standards and race — even pulled in President Trump. By the numbers: In a new Generation Lab poll of undergraduate and graduate students across the country, 64% of Democrats strongly or somewhat agreed that the ad felt out of touch, compared with 39% of Republicans. 38% of Republicans agreed the ad felt authentic, compared with 10% of Democrats. 42% of Democrats said the ad made them less likely to buy jeans from American Eagle. 16% of Republicans and 28% of Independents said the same. There's also a break in how young men and women are perceiving the jeans ad. 39% of young women — the ad's target demographic — said they're less likely to buy AE jeans. 21% of male respondents said the same. 63% of young women, compared with 44% of young men, agreed that the ad felt out of touch. Between the lines: Though majorities of young Democrats and young women didn't care for the jeans ad, just 10% of all respondents agreed with perhaps the harshest criticism of the campaign — that it offers a positive portrayal of the discredited belief of eugenics by featuring a play on the words "jeans" and "genes." 10% and 8% of young women and men, respectively, said the ad was "trying to endorse eugenics and genetic superiority to sell jeans." 13%, 5% and 8% of young Democrats, Republicans and Independents said the same. Methodology: This poll was conducted from August 7-11, 2025, from a representative sample of 1,289 undergraduate and graduate students nationwide. The margin of error is +/- 2.7 percentage points.
NBC News
24-07-2025
- Business
- NBC News
VERB A.I. pays some users $50 a month to access data
VERB A.I., a new app launched by polling company Generation Lab, is offering to pay young people $50 a month for their data. NBC News' Gadi Schwartz has more on how the new app works.
CNBC
03-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
What America's youngest workers want from jobs, and how they rate the biggest corporations: CNBC-Generation Lab survey
Young Americans will play a significant role in shaping workplaces in the decades ahead, and a new study conducted by Generation Lab for CNBC takes a look at how they feel about work-life balance and corporate culture. One finding of note: younger employees are back at job sites, and they're okay with it. Just over half (52%) of those polled say they're at work now "every day." The majority of in-office numbers rise to a combined 86% when including those in four days a week (21% of respondents), and those in three days (15%). For the majority of younger workers, the shift away from remote flexibility is not being made in resignation — they say being in the office three to four days a week seems fair to them. Seventy-six percent of respondents said "ideally" they want to be at work at least three days a week. The survey was conducted from April 2-May 2 by Generation Lab via email, and includes close to 18,000 Americans between the ages of 18 to 34 who are either currently enrolled in higher education (two-year, four-year and technical colleges) or graduated within the past four years. Generation Lab is a data intelligence firm specializing in the study of trends among young people. Only 9% of those polled said the ability to work remotely was the second most important issue (after money) when deciding on where to work. Thirty-six percent cited "career/skill development" as their top priority after money, while 27% said "company and team culture" ranked second to compensation. [chart] While they are happy to be back at the workplace, the loyalty of younger workers will have to be earned by employers. Only 7% say they are "committed to staying at a company for the long haul," while just 16% say they want to invest long-term in a company's success. But given the right career advancement opportunities, they will stay, with 46% of respondents saying they "want to grow within the company but may consider external opportunities." Younger generations are willing to work long hours to get ahead, but they have their limits. When asked about willingness to work "outside the bounds of your standard responsibilities" nearly one-third (32%) said it is "the best way to distinguish" themselves on the job. But over half (56%) said they'd do it, "but grudgingly," and that they "value work-life balance." While much has been made in recent years of the autonomy younger workers desire, they expect their managers to invest the time in helping them to advance in their careers. The majority (64%) say they want regular feedback from their supervisors: Only 12% of poll respondents said they want to hear from their supervisors once or twice a year. Young employees want the feedback in person (62% said they "best receive feedback face-to-face"), double those who said email, text or Slack. And many want the feedback from more than one source — 39% say they want to hear from "multiple people and perspectives." Generation Lab also polled respondents to see which major companies they "associate with unethical behavior or negative impact." Several big tech companies fared poorly on this question, with Tesla (68%), Meta (64%), and Amazon (61%) all being perceived negatively by over 60% of respondents. Boeing, at 61%, was the only other major company to be viewed negatively by more than 60% of the survey audience. The three big tech firms have worse reputations among young Americans than Exxon Mobil (51% view the oil and gas company negatively). Some of the hottest tech companies in the newest generation of Silicon Valley also had relatively low reputational scores compared to many companies: OpenAI (43% view it negatively) and Palantir (49% view it negatively). "A few years ago, Tesla, Meta, Boeing and Amazon all would have been on the most favored list," said Cyrus Beschloss, CEO of Generation Lab. "This may show these companies' communication mechanisms have failed to stop a leak of perceived bad news." The case of Tesla may be the most unique. "Tesla has a great story to tell about its product but perceptions of Elon Musk's involvement in politics have not been a positive for the brand," Beschloss said. "But he can probably turn that around by focusing on the good of the mission, if Musk decides to do so." A major issue since the start of the second Trump administration has been the administration's targeting of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and a subsequent retreat among companies supporting recently stated DEI goals. That doesn't fly with most young workers, and the survey indicates they will not support corporate employers that retreat on the issue. A majority (67%) say they "strongly support" companies continuing at least some DEI initiatives, while 15% said they either "prefer to eliminate" DEI or "prefer to scale it back." But a majority of respondents (58%) also indicated that when it comes to "discussing politics in the workplace," they prefer to avoid it. Trump administration tariffs, and the threat of more tariffs, have many economists and investors worried about a slowdown in economic growth and the potential for increasing layoffs. Those fears are reflected among younger workers as well. Close to three-quarters (72%) of those surveyed said they are either "somewhat concerned" or "very concerned" about a recession that could impact their job prospects. "A lot of smart young people are following what business leaders say ... casting doubt on the strength of the economy, and that's had an impact," Beschloss said. "This age group also grew up during the Covid economy and in some cases the Great Recession in 2007. They're legitimately nervous," he said. "Right now, young people are seeing symptoms of a struggling economy in their everyday lives — through difficulties finding a job, higher prices, and constant conversation about tariffs. Fittingly, there's no surprise that these recent difficulties and uncertainty had led to a growing sense that a recession could be on the horizon," added Jira Smith, research director at Generation Lab. When it comes to finding a job, most respondents use LinkedIn (63%), with ranked second (58%), followed by Handshake (37%). As far as where younger workers look for career advice, they keep it close to home: 81% said they start with mom or dad.
Fast Company
21-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Gen Z is willing to sell their personal data—for just $50 a month
Rather than clocking in at a Saturday job or selling old clothes for quick cash, Gen Z has another side hustle up their sleeve: selling their personal data. To take advantage of the nearly seven hours a day Gen Z spend on their phones, a new app called launched by youth polling company Generation Lab, is now offering to pay young people for their scrolling time. By installing a tracker which monitors what they browse, buy, and stream, Verb creates a digital twin of each user that lives in a central database. From there, companies and businesses can query the data in a ChatGPT-like interface, and get a more accurate picture of consumer preferences than they would get even from a room full of Gen Zers. 'For decades, market research has been the equivalent of a doctor asking a patient to describe their symptoms. Verb is an MRI machine,' the company's pitch deck says. And Verb is willing to pay. 'We think corporations have extracted user data without fairly compensating people for their own data,' Cyrus Beschloss, CEO of Generation Lab, said per Axios. 'We think users should know exactly what data they're giving us and should feel good about what they're receiving in return.' Verb's maker, Generation Lab, was founded in 2016 and is based in Washington, D.C., according to the company's LinkedIn page. It currently has 6 employees listed on the company's official website. The broader global data broker market, meanwhile, is expected to grow in the next few years, reaching a projected $561.538 billion by 2029, up from $389.765 billion in 2024. In return for their personal data, Verb pays $50 or more per month to the user, depending on activity. For Gen Zers, it's a fair enough deal for something they are likely doing anyway. About 88 % of Gen Zers report being willing to share some personal data with a social media company, compared to just 67% of older adults. That is provided they are fairly compensated either with cash or a personalized social media algorithm, a 2022 Euromonitor International study found. A generation filled with contradictions, Gen Z is at the same time still taking protective measures with their data. They are clearing cookies, using anonymous browsers, and encrypting their communications twice as often as other generations. However, they also are more likely to agree with the statement, 'I don't mind being tracked by websites or apps,' compared to older generations, according to a 2023 survey from the cybersecurity company Malwarebytes. The extent of Gen Z's willingness to share personal data was apparent during the still-ongoing regulatory scrutiny of TikTok over data privacy concerns in China. Case in point: the 'Goodbye to My Chinese Spy' trend that took off as the possibility of TikTok being banned in the U.S. loomed earlier this year. 'Sending Xi Jinping a data care package because he's taken better care of me than the US government ever has,' read the text over a TikTok video of an envelope addressed to the president of China. 'To my (alleged) Chinese spy – nobody knows me like you, babe', another TikTok user posted.
