American Eagle Outfitters shares surged 26% in premarket trading today, fueled by renewed shopper interest in the retailer following a controversial jeans ad campaign featuring actor Sydney Sweeney.

The “Great Jeans” campaign, which faced backlash on social media over perceived racial undertones related to genetic traits, nonetheless delivered what Chief Marketing Officer Craig Brommers called “unprecedented new customer acquisition,” during the company’s post-earnings call on Wednesday.

American Eagle is also benefiting from its partnership with National Football League (NFL) star Travis Kelce’s clothing brand Tru Kolors, further amplifying the company’s reach among young shoppers.

The company said that customer counts were up more than 700,000 since the launch of the campaigns with Sw

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