Hollywood actress Sydney Sweeney has taken the country by storm. If you're a male of a certain age, she's everywhere across all ad groups and a dominant cultural force as one of the most gorgeous women on the planet. This past week, she may have pulled her biggest feat yet, resurrecting a dying brand and making it relevant again. It's the total opposite of what Bud Light did with Dylan Mulvaney.

The advertisement was cut by American Eagle, promoting denim jeans and the brand overall. The ad went viral the moment it hit the internet. The New York Post summarized the ad, "In a sultry video spot, Sweeney leans under the open hood of a vintage Mustang GT350 in a tight tank top, then slams the hood shut — and wipes her hands on her butt before hopping into the car and peeling off."

Hot women and All-American muscle cars are a direct message. The impact was immediate. American Eagle, which was a dying brand from its heydays of dominating Millennial culture and malls, saw its stock skyrocket. At times, it rose by 10% in a day, adding between $200 million and $300 million to the company's valuation.

It's not the first time the Hollywood star has had viral ad success. The other one involved an ad campaign with Dr. Squatch, which peaked when they sold her bath water as a body wash. It was sold out within seconds.

About as fast as Sweeney's jeans ad went viral, the left started attacking it. Multiple posts went viral among the far left, calling the ads racist. That, in a nutshell, should explain why the left is losing sway with young male voters. If you're going to call hot women and fast cars in American ads racist, you've lost all touch with reality.

Republicans don't have to say much to these accusations besides commenting on the obvious: that kind of opinion is categorically insane. If Democrats want to claim that gorgeous women and muscle cars are racist and shouldn't be liked by anyone, they have a political death wish.

Corporate America has to see the obvious point, too. Leaning into this makes way more sense than the path of Bud Light.

While the light beer giant had some decline before the Dylan Mulvaney ad, that accelerated rapidly after the partnership. Since that disastrous ad, Bud Light has fallen behind competitors in both stores and as a consumer option in restaurants. Some estimates have shown Bud Light losing nearly a third of its sales.

The Bud Light debacle is now considered one of the largest boycotts in history. The brand hasn't recovered since the 2023 outrage and shows no signs of rebuilding. They've been throwing multiple celebrities at it, and tried everything, but nothing has stuck.

What is wild is that the Budweiser brand, in general, had a stranglehold on American advertising. To this day, Budweiser's "Eternal Optimism" ad for the 2012 Super Bowl is one of my all-time favorites. It reflects the endless and boundless optimism of Americans as they forge into the future, accomplish great things along the way, and have fun.

The 1990s and 2000s saw an explosion of creative ads, which helped solidify the apolitical, pro-American, and fun-loving image of these massive brands. But the hard left shift in the culture killed all of that messaging, and is now murdering these companies. It's all self-inflicted.

But Sydney Sweeney is bringing back that classic idea: it's raw American exceptionalism that has fun.

If you don't believe the American example, look to Europe. Jaguar attempted one of the most bizarre rebrandings in history, catering to a niche of people who never buy the cars. This year, they reported an astonishing 98% sales drop.

American Eagle has a chance to ride this new momentum and restore itself to its former glory. One ad won't do that. However, it can significantly reshape how people perceive the company and its products. Sydney Sweeney turned the company into an overnight meme stock, with millions pouring in from retail investors.

If sales follow that, it'll be another example of how the "go woke, go broke" mentality has crippled corporate America. That's the negative version. Sydney Sweeney's ads are showing a reverse version: leaning into the things that, at one point, were all understood to be great, boosts your brand.

The Fast and the Furious franchise has successfully employed this formula for multiple decades. American Eagle did the same thing and regained relevance. There's a trend here if smart companies are willing to follow it. The far-left may have a meltdown, but dollars and eyeballs say they're wrong about everything on this front.

Sydney Sweeney, the hot starlet, is pointing the way. It's time for Corporate America to follow.