Sydney Sweeney's Novig Ad Ignites Outcry from Female Champions
“This Is What Women in Sports Look Like”
Synopsis
Hollywood star actress Sydney Sweeney appears near-naked, covered up with sports equipment such as footballs, hockey pads, tennis racquets, and basketball equipment to cover herself while repeating that the app is "just sports". The advert has sparked a strong reaction: "I don't know what Sydney Sweeney was doing, but this is what women in sport look like." The Company announced the ad was made with “confidence, humour and a playful edge.”
Novig is ‘Just Sports’
Hollywood star actress Sydney Sweeney, who starred in the television series Euphoria, Anyone But You and The Housemaid, is at the centre of a controversy following a provocative new campaign for U.S. sports prediction app Novig.
She appears near-naked, covered up with sports equipment such as footballs, hockey pads, tennis racquets, and basketball equipment to cover herself while repeating that the app is "just sports".
On the contrary, the app’s explicit tagline promises no politics, no distractions, “Just Sports”, yet launched an ad whose primary visual driver is Hollywood sexual appeal rather than athletic performance.
Sydney is not just a hired model; she is a strategic partner and equity holder who helped develop the creative concept.
The Athlete Backlash: “This is what women in sports look like”
The advert has sparked a strong reaction, with many female athletes criticising its sexualisation of women in sport, and how they are being defined by their appearance rather than their achievements as sportswomen.
Backlash began with American gymnast Gracie Kramer, who posted a montage of herself training with the caption, "I don't know what Sydney Sweeney was doing, but this is what women in sport look like."
British sprinter Amy Hunt, who became a four-time European champion earlier this summer in 2026, referenced the advert after she ran a season's best 22.10 seconds to finish fourth in the 200m final at the Ultimate Championship in Budapest on Sunday. "Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like," Hunt said in her post-race.
Retired Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus, the four-time Olympic gold medallist, said she thought this type of “bullshit” marketing was a thing of the past.
“I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this; not only is it a kick in the face to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but also to every woman who enjoys sports for what it really is: teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellence, unity. How do we live in a world where monetising a woman’s body and sexualising women’s sport is still a thing?”
Brilliant Marketing, Questionable Purpose: The Sweeney-Novig Dilemma
Skylar Mae, a 23-year-old woman, says, "Sydney Sweeney knows exactly what she is doing. She is the Pamela Anderson of the 2020s," Skylar says. "She and her team understand what they are doing, and they are killing it. She looked absolutely amazing. I was personally drawn to this commercial."
But instead, the only thing she is worried about is the use of women and sex appeal to attract men to bet. “If it were just an attractive sports campaign, then I would've approved of it 100%. The marketing strategy is brilliant; I am just questioning the purpose of it," Skylar says.
The Defence: Sweeney Invokes Sports Legends to Defend Novig Ad
In a press release, Novig described the campaign as an effort to bring its ‘Just Sports’ message to life with ‘confidence, humour and a playful edge.’ The concept is simple: cut through the noise and put the focus entirely on sports,” Sweeney said in the release. She also joins Novig as a strategic partner and equity holder.
The star has now seemingly responded to comments about her choices and the ad. Sydney shared photographs of sports legends such as Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, Rob Gronkowski, and Jason Kelce. By sharing archival imagery of elit athletes who similarly posed nude or semi-nude for publications like ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue, Sweeney defended her artistic choice as part of a long-standing sports tradition.
Beyond the Campaign
Celebrities stripping down to sell products is one of the oldest plays in advertising. Yet whenever backlash hits, it's nearly always the face on the billboard that gets the brunt of the wrath, as the executives and creative teams that approved the pitch stay out of the spotlight. The boardroom is not to blame for a calculated campaign that was specifically aimed at creating controversy about Sweeney.
Meanwhile, it is important to question why the marketing playbook hasn't moved on. The whole idea of a brand that claims to be all about sports is being stuck in the past with semi-nudity just to gain attention. There is a fine line between creative freedom and sheer gimmickry and when an ad has to rely on shock value to cut through the noise, it suggests the product wasn't strong enough to stand on its own in the first place.