Fall is back, and you know what that means! It\u2019s time for social media feeds to be filled with recipes for
everything pumpkin spice, edits of Gilmore Girls with just enough nostalgia to prompt a 10th rewatch,
ideas for \u201cniche\u201d Halloween costumes, hauls for extravagant Boo Baskets\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh, and of course, sports betting ads featuring a nearly-nude actress, covered only by hockey shin guards
and footballs. That\u2019s right. In 2025, American Eagle tried to convince us that Sydney Sweeney had \u201cgreat
jeans.\u201d Now, Sweeney is working with Novig, a sports prediction market. For this campaign, she\u2019s doing
away with the jeans (and all other clothing) to show audiences that Novig\u2019s focus is \u201cjust sports.\u201d
Following the release of this video advertisement on September 9th, 2026, people everywhere have
been posting about their disgust at Novig\u2019s approach, with many specifically calling out Sweeney for
partaking in a campaign that counteracts the respect that women in sports work so hard to gain. Female
athletes in particular have spoken up, with many posting videos of them training and competing, using
the caption, \u201cThis is what women in sports really look like.\u201d Ariarne Titmus, four-time Olympic swimming
gold medalist, wrote on Instagram, \u201cHow do we live in a world where monetizing a woman\u2019s body and
sexualizing women\u2019s sports is still a thing?\u201d Although Novig was founded in 2021, this was their first
campaign, and a bold one, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked about this controversial approach, Novig\u2019s CEO, Jacob Fortinsky, told Front of Office Sports,
\u201cIn some sense, it forces us into the national discourse.\u201d Fortinsky also stated that Sweeney came to
Novig and was \u201cinterested in some kind of equity partnership\u201d and even \u201chelped craft that message,\u201d
along with other aspects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sweeney has also responded to the backlash, telling Complex that the campaign was supposed to be \u201ca
very simple and playful idea\u201d that \u201cbrings the concept of \u2018just sports\u2019 to life.\u201d Sweeney also posted
images on her Instagram story from ESPN The Magazine\u2019s \u201cBody Issue,\u201d which featured naked athletes,
similar to the concept of Novig\u2019s advertisement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is evident that the people at Novig are not attempting to diffuse the situation with a public apology or
other similar efforts. They have instead chosen to deflect the public\u2019s response by claiming that the
campaign was not meant to cause harm and that similar strategies have been used by other companies.
The advertisement, like any other, is meant to grab attention. At a surface level, Novig\u2019s approach is
understandable from a marketing perspective when we think about the amount of sports betting
advertisements that hit a variety of platforms around this time of year. Everyone uses celebrities, so how
they are used can heavily impact the success of the campaign. Among an influx of generic initiatives,
sales rely on concepts that stand out, even if that comes with widespread dispute. After all, negative
attention is still attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet, this still leaves the issue of who the audience actually is. Fortinsky made it clear with his post on
X\/Twitter that \u201ctrading is for adults\u201d and explained that users of Novig must be at least 21 years old.
Seemingly, Novig did not intend for the campaign to reach certain groups, such as children, who should
not be exposed to scandalous visuals. However, it\u2019s 2026. With the vast utilization of digital media, was it
realistic to assume that the campaign wouldn’t reach younger audiences?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t think so. Fortinsky\u2019s defense dodges one very important fact: most viewers are not discovering
the advertisement on the Novig platform. They\u2019re seeing it everywhere else. I came across the
advertisement while watching a movie on the streaming service Tubi. On this platform in particular, users
only need to be 13 years old to create an account. Even then, there are no formal ways of regulating
what age viewers are, and that goes for most streaming services, social media apps, and other sources of
digital content. Therefore, the age restriction that Novig\u2019s platform has does not cover the span of the
advertisement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ultimately, the aftermath of the campaign has made this about much more than \u201cjust sports.\u201d Viewers
are talking about whether or not Novig crossed the line. But, from a public relations or marketing
perspective, the conclusion of this discussion may not matter. Will Novig\u2019s disrespect and lack of remorse
keep consumers away from spending money on Novig\u2019s platform, or will the fact that we\u2019ve even
entertained this conversation keep the company alive?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fall is back, and you know what that means! It\u2019s time for social media feeds to be filled with recipes foreverything pumpkin spice, edits of Gilmore Girls with just enough […]<\/p>\n