Overview
- Novig released a provocative marketing campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney mostly nude and covered by sports equipment to promote its sports‑only prediction market, and Novig says Sweeney, who holds equity in the company, helped shape the creative.
- Many female athletes publicly condemned the imagery as sexualizing women and undermining respect for female sport, while Olympic and professional competitors posted criticisms across social platforms.
- WNBA guard Sophie Cunningham publicly defended Sweeney’s right to make the ad, called the spot ‘unauthentic’ for an actress who may not bet on sports, and urged critics to let Sweeney ‘do your thing,’ a high‑profile athlete response that has widened the conversation.
- Psychologists and some politicians warned the campaign could be ‘regressive’ and influence young boys’ views of female athletes, and commentators noted the ad appears aimed at male sports gamblers and leverages sexualized imagery to capture attention.
- So far there have been no reported sponsor withdrawals or formal regulatory penalties, industry watchers point to a sharp gender split in ad receptivity from early testing, and the near‑term markers to watch are partner distancing, enforcement complaints, and whether the visibility drives measurable commercial gains.