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Sydney Sweeney’s latest commercial for the sports prediction app Novig blew up across social media this week after the actress appeared in a spot that leaves very little to the imagination, using footballs, basketballs and other gear to cover her body while repeating the tagline “Novig is just sports.” The clip was designed to go viral, and it did — but the attention came with a fierce backlash that spilled well beyond the usual celebrity gossip circles.
Veteran athletes and Olympians were quick to publicly denounce the ad, calling it a slap in the face to women who have fought to be taken seriously in sport and urging that athletic achievement should not be packaged as a salacious marketing ploy. For many female competitors the outrage wasn’t just about taste; it was about how commodifying real athleticism with sexualized imagery undermines efforts to grow opportunities and respect for women’s sports.
What makes this stunt especially notable is that Sweeney is not merely a paid face for Novig — she’s a strategic partner and equity holder, which raises the stakes and the optics of the move for investors and the sports world alike. The company and Sweeney framed the campaign as a cheeky way to “cut through the noise” and refocus attention on sports, but the message was lost when the execution turned the conversation toward objectification rather than athleticism.
From a marketing point of view the ad achieved what the creators wanted: massive reach and engagement, with reports of tens of millions of Instagram views and a surge of online chatter that Novig’s leadership gleefully acknowledged. But virality is not the same as brand trust, and trading reputational capital for clicks is a short-term play that often costs more than it pays when your product depends on credibility within the sports community.
Conservative patriots should call out two things at once: the cheapening of public discourse by attention-grabbing gimmicks, and the hypocrisy of an entertainment-industrial complex that applauds sexualization when it sells but feigns outrage when convenient. Celebrities and corporations are free to pursue profits, and consumers are free to decide with their wallets, but there is nothing wrong with defending the dignity of women who sweat, bleed and sacrifice for their sports. That defense is not “woke” — it’s common sense and respect for hard work.
If Novig and Ms. Sweeney wanted a real conversation about women in sport, they could have partnered with female athletes and invested in programs that expand access and coverage. Instead they chose spectacle, and hardworking Americans watching the spectacle — parents, coaches, and kids who love sport for what it teaches — deserve better than to have their role models reduced to props in a billboard for clicks.
