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Telegraph
6 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Sydney Sweeney just sent this American stock soaring
A US clothing brand has seen its share price surge in a 'memestock' frenzy after announcing an advertising campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney. Clothing brand American Eagle Outfitters saw its stock jump as much as 12pc in New York after it announced that the Euphoria and The White Lotus actress would star in a new advertising push. The surge added nearly $228m (£168m) to its market value. Ms Sweeney will appear in a campaign for its winter denim collection that includes a limited-edition jacket as well as 'The Sydney Jean'. While advertising campaigns can and do influence a company's performance and Ms Sweeney is one of the most recognisable actresses in the US, analysts said the scale of the share price jump was untethered from reality. The sharp upswing comes after the retailer gained attention on Reddit's WallStreetBets, a forum known for fuelling so-called extreme rallies in the share prices of so-called memestocks. Memestocks are companies where the share price is driven by social media hype and online communities, rather than the company's fundamental financial performance. The phenomenon emerged during the pandemic as people turned to trading as a way to entertain themselves during lockdowns. 'Gamblification' of stock markets The term memestock was coined after companies including GameStop and Blackberry saw their share prices surge in 2021 despite little in the way of updates about their underlying performance. The vertiginous rally triggered the collapse of a hedge fund that had bet against GameStop's stock and helped inspire the 2023 film Dumb Money starring Paul Dano. American Eagle's stock was down almost 50pc so far this year prior to this week's rally after it pulled its annual forecasts because of tariff uncertainty. The company primarily sources its products from China. Ross Mayfield, an analyst at Baird Private Wealth Management, said memestocks were a symbol of how stock markets had been 'gamblified'. He said: 'It says to me nothing about the level of interest rates or financial conditions. This is retail traders moving individual stocks that are heavily shorted. 'It reflects more the gambling culture permeating financial markets. These are not being bid up because of a good earnings report. It's because of a Sydney Sweeney ad campaign.' Ms Sweeney, who has 25.2m followers on Instagram, has fronted campaigns for the likes of Ford, Baskin-Robbins ice cream and luxury fashion brand Miu Miu. As well as being known for her screen roles, Ms Sweeney has become a prominent figure in popular culture and found herself wrapped up in North American culture wars. After her appearance hosting Saturday Night Live, in which she appeared in a sketch as a Hooters waitress, Canadian newspaper the National Post that declared the actress's breasts were the 'double-D harbingers of the death of woke', a claim that sparked a wave of commentary on both sides of the political spectrum centring on her physical appearance. Meanwhile, Ms Sweeney was criticised by commentators on the Left in 2023 after she attended a birthday party for her mother where guests were pictured wearing Maga-style caps.
ABC News
21-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
'Lethal' ad campaign helped Labor achieve landslide victory, says campaign guru Paul Erickson
The mastermind behind the Labor Party's thumping federal election win has given an insight into his tactics, crediting a thorough research program, a "lethal" advertising campaign, and targeting both the opposition and the Greens. Labor Party national secretary Paul Erickson said Labor ran a positive campaign, contrasting with the Dutton campaign, which he said operated "in an echo chamber" and over-egged an assumption that voters were hostile to the incumbent government. Erickson, who has been Labor secretary since 2019, told the National Press Club on Wednesday a robust research program which started before the campaign helped hone a strategy to target Peter Dutton. "Instead of horse race polling, our research program was dedicated to building out our campaign by identifying strengths and weaknesses," he said. He said one of the key issues Labor identified was that voters had "deeper reservations" about the then-Liberal leader, who ended up losing his own seat of Dickson. "His aggression and intolerance unsettled people," Erickson said. "Was he focused on Australians who were looking for the party with the best plan to make them better off over the next three years? Or was his priority winning over voters who were looking for an Australian variation on MAGA?" Erickson also paid tribute to "the most sophisticated advertising campaign Labor has ever executed" in reversing Labor's fortunes from lagging behind in opinion polls to winning majority government. "We are confident that when counting concludes this will be the first election since 1966 where the incumbent party didn't lose a seat," he said. Erickson said Labor-aligned advertising group Campaign Edge, led by Dee Madigan, captured the mood of voters worried about uncertainty overseas. "Our two opening ads — Labor's cost of living measures and Building Australia's Future — spoke to that sentiment," he said. "They reminded voters of the relief Labor had delivered and outlined Anthony Albanese's plan to make Australians better off." Erickson also revealed Labor's pointed targeting of the Greens with a dedicated effort from within the ALP, as well as hiring behavioural change outfit The Shannon Company. "One of our sorer points after 2022 was the recognition that we underestimated the threat from the Greens, particularly in south-east Queensland," he told the National Press Club. "The Coalition's blocking strategy meant we had to grapple with the challenge of a Greens political party that was equally committed to frustrating progress." Erickson also credited an "exemplary" campaign performance from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who attended the speech, along with other Labor ministers such as Katy Gallagher, Tony Burke, Andrew Giles and Tim Ayres. Erickson joked that he would have said the PM "didn't put a foot wrong", if it weren't for his fall off a stage while campaigning in NSW. The Labor secretary also launched into the Liberals' campaign strategy of being anti-Labor, while failing to announce policies early enough. "With less than two weeks to go, on Insiders with David [Speers], [shadow housing spokesman] Michael Sukkar said that the Coalition was saving up their policies so that they could, 'Connect with Australians when they're going to switch on.' "I remember watching that interview and thinking — you haven't got long now, brother!" He said the opposition seized on a "conventional wisdom" at the beginning of 2025 that Labor would be rejected by voters angry about the cost of living. "The opposition embraced this consensus — they were more focused on claiming front-runner status than explaining what they would do if they won. "They operate in an echo chamber," he said. "They are more concerned with the prejudices of their hardcore supporters than the experiences of working people." Erickson also gave a simple "no" to a question about his own political ambitions following reports he could consider running for a seat himself. Labor has been mostly quiet about its attempts to harness the power of "influencers" or online personalities, but Erickson was asked directly about it. He said Labor determined it needed to be present not just in traditional media but online, and said he believed his party ran "the strongest possible digital campaign in 2025". Erickson also revealed Labor drew on the successful online campaign of the "no" vote during the Voice referendum campaign in 2023, and applied some of those lessons. "We also tried to connect with lots of new and emerging forms of media, new content creators, podcasters, things like that," he said. "We made the effort to be everywhere because, in that fragmented media environment, you can't pass up any opportunity to try to connect with people and get your message across."
