The campaign features TikTok stars Addison Rae and Wisdom Kaye, in addition to Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
By Kellie Ell | Link to article
American Eagle and Disney are getting together this Christmas.
The retailer and the entertainment giant have teamed up for a campaign themed “Follow Your Dreams” and an exclusive holiday collection.
“Disney and American Eagle are two great, iconic brands and both are about celebrating optimism and making people feel good,” Chad Kessler, American Eagle global brand president, told WWD. “It’s obviously been a challenging year. Kids did not have the year that they planned and we’re all learning how to live and work in this new time. We really wanted this holiday to be all about optimism and connection and togetherness, reminding people that there’s a lot to be hopeful for, reminding ourselves that we have a lot in common.”
The 47-piece Disney x AE holiday collection drops Thursday on ae.com and in American Eagle stores. Shoppers can also tune into American Eagle’s web site and social media channels to watch the campaign video, featuring TikTok stars Addison Rae and Wisdom Kaye, along with Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
In addition, Snapchat users can log onto American Eagle’s virtual store by way of the camera on their mobile devices between Nov. 5 and Dec. 25 to view the assortment and make purchases.
“It’s an augmented-reality store on Snapchat,” Kessler said. ““It looks like a 3-D store experience. So you can look around [the store] through your phone and look at and shop the various products. It feels like they’re in an actual store.”
The holiday collection includes jeans, T-shirts, fleece sweaters, patterned pajamas and accessories, among other things, many of them adorned with Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Pluto. Prices range from $9.95 to $79.95. Addison Rae said her favorites include the mom jeans.
“I’m obsessed with the jeans,” Rae said. “In high school and middle school I always wore American Eagle. And my mom did too. They make your butt look good and they’re comfortable.”
In fact, even during the pandemic, Kessler said denim continued to be a standout category for the retailer. (The AE jeans business grew double digits online last quarter.)
“People love jeans. I think people have an emotional connection to jeans and people know we make the best jeans,” Kessler said. “We hear a lot of talk about people working from home in their sweats and all that. But I think people want to be in their favorite product category, which is American Eagle jeans.”
American Eagle, which is owned by parent company American Eagle Outfitters, has also partnered with Feeding America this holiday season. Starting Dec. 1, American Eagle will donate 10 meals to the organization (up to 250,000 meals) for every transaction in stores or online, as well as 10 meals for every like on a Feeding America post on the brand’s Instagram, (also up to 250,000 meals). In addition, customers can contribute to the nonprofit by way of open donations in American Eagle stores or online through Dec. 24. For each dollar donated, American Eagle has pledged to give 10 meals to Feeding America.