From The Hollywood Reporter · McKinley Franklin · · 1m 30s
Sydney Sweeney's betting ad hits a nerve
A year after the American Eagle mess, Sweeney is selling a sports prediction app, and the sexualized pitch is drawing fire.
In brief
A year after the American Eagle mess, Sweeney is selling a sports prediction app, and the sexualized pitch is drawing fire. Sweeney isn't just the face of Novig, she owns a piece of it, which makes the ad's tone a business decision rather than a one-off gig. Originally reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Another ad, another backlash
More than a year after her American Eagle campaign blew up, Sydney Sweeney is taking heat again, this time for a sexualized spot promoting sports trading app Novig.
She's not just the face
The Euphoria actress signed on Wednesday as a strategic partner and equity holder in Novig, not only starring in the ad but owning part of what she's selling.
What Novig actually is
The platform launched last month and lets fans trade on sports outcomes, borrowing the mechanics of financial exchanges instead of a traditional sportsbook.
“combines the mechanics of modern financial exchanges with a sports-first experience”
The responsibility pitch
Novig calls itself the only prediction market with a 21+ age requirement, framing that as a higher bar for a category growing fast and drawing scrutiny.
“the only prediction market to maintain a 21+ age requirement”
Why critics are angry
The complaint lands on women in sports: a sexualized ad for a sports product, critics say, is exactly the reason female athletes and fans get brushed off.
“Exactly why women in sports aren't taken seriously”
A pattern, not a slip
Two campaigns, two rounds of outrage. Sweeney's marketability keeps getting built on the same lever, and the blowback keeps arriving with it.
The essence
Sweeney isn't just the face of Novig, she owns a piece of it, which makes the ad's tone a business decision rather than a one-off gig.
