From Newsweek · · 2m
Sydney Sweeney's Novig ad hits a nerve
A betting app bought attention with a nearly nude ad, and elite female athletes decided to take the fight public.
In brief
A betting app bought attention with a nearly nude ad, and elite female athletes decided to take the fight public. When a prediction market buys celebrity shock value, the women who built the audience are the ones who pay for it. Originally reported by Newsweek.
An ad that lit a fuse
Sydney Sweeney's campaign for the sports prediction platform Novig drew fast, loud criticism from high-profile female athletes across swimming, track, gymnastics, water polo and rugby.
What the ad actually shows
Sweeney appears with little or no clothing, using sports equipment to cover her body while repeating Novig's "just sports" pitch, a jab at rivals that let people bet on politics.
She is not just the face
Novig co-founder Jacob Fortinsky says Sweeney is a strategic partner and equity holder, and that her presence drags the company into national conversation.
“We're very excited to have her on the cap table.”
Titmus goes first
Four-time Olympic swimming champion Ariarne Titmus said she was infuriated, calling the ad a setback that monetizes women's bodies instead of their years of work.
The line that spread fastest
British sprinter Amy Hunt looked straight into a BBC camera after racing in Budapest and delivered the rebuttal that raced across social media.
“Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like. Muscles, hard work, sweat, blood, tears.”
Bigger than one campaign
Gymnast Gracie Kramer posted training and competition images, framing the fight as one about how the next generation of girls sees itself.
“It's about inspiring real change in the way women are seen, valued, and represented.”
The backlash widens
Water poloist Tilly Kearns and rugby player Sofie Fella joined in, along with boxer Skye Nicolson, swimmer Lani Pallister and groups like the Australian Institute of Sport. Many answered with training footage.
Sweeney answers sideways
She addressed no critic directly. Over the weekend she posted images from ESPN's Body Issue, where athletes themselves pose nude, as her implied defense.
Why this keeps happening
Emory marketing professor Michael Lewis says prediction markets are racing to become the default brand, and a publicity magnet like Sweeney is the shortcut.
“She's a throwback to the 1990s and the old world of sex sells. When she goes out there, the reaction is like a reflex.”
The big picture
When a prediction market buys celebrity shock value, the women who built the audience are the ones who pay for it.
