A new advertisement for the sports-betting platform Novig, featuring actor Sydney Sweeney, has been released, in which Sweeney references audience speculation about her underwear choices and alludes to the deaths of dictators as part of the platform's broader effort to highlight its sports-betting focus. The advertisement was posted to Instagram on 11 October, following objections raised by women athletes directed at the brand's earlier campaign from September.
Two separate timelines are relevant: the advertisement currently in circulation is a new release, while the objections from athletes relate to an earlier version of the campaign. Provocative visuals carry over into the latest edition, though the underlying message has shifted toward the pool of individuals available for betting.
Sweeney's involvement in the project extends beyond her on-screen appearance. When Novig publicly announced the partnership on 9 September, the company identified her as both an equity holder and a strategic partner in the venture.
In the roughly half-minute advertisement, Sweeney moves through a studio set dressed in Novig-branded underwear. She noted that some fans have apparently built detailed tracking systems around her wardrobe choices, describing the attention as something she took as a compliment. The advertisement then features a character who describes how political deaths fuel speculative trading and how automated systems distort those markets, before recounting a person who staked retirement funds on the outcome of a conflict. At the advertisement's end, Sweeney positions two American footballs against her chest and voices the brand's athletics-focused tagline.
The advertisement places celebrity content and cross-border wagering alongside Novig's own trading market, a layout the company has chosen for its promotional focus. The footage does not point to any identifiable trader, documented transaction, or active investigation that would support the insider trading allegation it raises. No finding within the material establishes that any identified competitor engaged in misconduct.
Complaints from athletes followed the initial advertisement, with those competitors contending that its visual content treated women in sport as objects of desire. British sprinter Hunt was among several athletes who voiced objections to the campaign that autumn. Following a post-race interview on a broadcast news outlet, Hunt directed a comment at Sweeney, stating that the physical demands underpinning athletic competition represent what women in sport truly embody.
The debate extended beyond questions about Sweeney's personal choices. Discussion centred on how a female body had been used to market an athletic product and what that choice indicated about the standing of women within sport. Novig disputed that characterisation.
Speaking at a Front Office Sports gathering on 15 September, Novig chief executive Jacob Fortinsky stated that female athletes had never been the intended audience for the campaign. In remarks attributed to him, Sweeney's role was described as putting a face to the organisation's sporting priorities, with support for women's sport also noted as part of the company's position. Fortinsky further stated that Sweeney's involvement in the campaign extended to both its visual identity and its broader messaging strategy, encompassing elements that were at once artistic and market-facing.
Sweeney holds a financial stake in the platform she publicly advocates for, creating a direct commercial interest on her part. When Novig announced its launch, Sweeney indicated that the venture offered an opportunity to engage with something lighthearted. The company had previously disclosed plans for additional promotional material in the autumn, and the October advertisement carries that campaign forward.
The text accompanying the advertisement highlights the reach of Novig's wagering platform, while the visuals continue in the direction that prompted the earlier objections from athletes. The campaign's messaging introduces a fresh appeal while the concerns raised about the depiction of women remain unaddressed by the new material.
