Sydney Sweeney’s latest controversy has reignited a debate about women’s sports and the objectification of women. Her Novig ad reportedly received more than 22 million views in its first two days, according to The Guardian. Athletes, including gymnast Gracie Kramer, responded by sharing footage of their athleticism, discipline and skill People.
What did Sweeney do right or wrong, and what can brands learn from this phenomenon? We’ll examine the ad’s reception alongside a 1929 PR stunt that also stirred public debate. We’ll explore how the campaigns relate, what they tell us about their markets and why controversy can help or hurt a brand’s message.
We’ll also break down three strategies businesses can use to help drive sales without having to spend millions on ads.
Sell by Challenging Social Norms
In 1929, Edward Bernays led a campaign called “Torches of Freedom.” Bernays, known as the father of public relations and a nephew of Sigmund Freud, consulted psychoanalyst A. A. Brill about women and cigarettes. Brill suggested that smoking could symbolize equality with men Wikipedia.
Bernays tied smoking to the women’s emancipation movement, presenting it as an act of independence. On March 31, 1929, he arranged for women to light cigarettes during New York’s Easter Sunday parade on Fifth Avenue and alerted the press in advance. Working for the American Tobacco Company, he reframed smoking in public as an act of liberation, helping challenge a taboo that limited the company’s potential market Wikipedia.
Novig’s “Just Sports” ad appears aimed at a male audience, but with what I see as an opposite political message. Where Bernays tied a product to a political cause, Novig seems to offer permission to enjoy entertainment and leave politics out of the picture. That reading builds on the company’s stated focus on sports rather than other prediction-market categories Novig.
As Sydney Sweeney says in her Novig campaign,
“No betting on wars, or deaths, and no politics. Just you, your takes, and sports.”
In a heavily politicized media atmosphere, the ad puts Sweeney front and center with imagery reminiscent of a Playboy spread. Rather than following the empowering narrative often used in advertising about women and sports, it seems to say that entertainment doesn’t need to make a moral point. For an audience that wants to tune out and watch sports, that could be part of the appeal.
Did it generate backlash? Absolutely. But the imagery that offended critics could also appeal to viewers tired of being told what they should or shouldn’t enjoy. That’s the connection between the campaigns. Both can be read as attempts to engineer consent by making people feel they had a right to go against social norms. Bernays tied cigarettes to women’s power and independence. Novig paired a sexualized image of Sweeney with sports prediction markets, bringing together two subjects that attract moral criticism. The implied message wasn’t just “it’s okay.” It was “it’s your choice, and you don’t need anyone’s approval.”
Then there’s that familiar saying, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” If attention is the measure, an analysis by Clayton Durant, an adjunct professor of music business at NYU and founder of CAD Management, puts Novig at 4,633 media mentions during the campaign’s first four days, compared with its previous weekly average of 392. Whether that attention translates into sales and brand loyalty is a question for another day.
Businesses don’t have to fabricate controversy or exploit social causes. They can use shock value to make people feel freer to act on desires they’ve held back because of their upbringing, religion or social expectations. That could mean trying a functional mushroom coffee or buying a dress they were taught was unacceptable. With ethics in mind, businesses can challenge those judgments without attacking people’s beliefs, helping customers feel more comfortable acting on what they want and potentially increasing sales.
Should Brands Use Identity Signaling?
Apple vs Microsoft. Pepsi vs Coca-Cola. American Tobacco vs social conservatives. Sydney Sweeney vs critics of the sexualization of women.
Each example shows how a brand can place itself inside an existing rivalry or cultural tension. The strategy uses opposition as fuel, creating debate around the brand and encouraging audiences to choose a side. Through identity signaling, advertisers can turn support for a campaign into a public statement about who someone is, what they believe and which group they identify with.
Critics of Sweeney’s Novig ad opposed what they saw as the objectification of women. Female athletes used viral social media videos to contrast their identities with the image of women presented in the campaign. Their criticism expressed what they believed women in sports should represent.
Other viewers saw the campaign more simply as an advertisement designed for Novig’s target audience. As strategy partner Alyce Gillis put it in The Australian,
“Sports betting skews young and male, so Novig has clearly done the sums and decided women just aren’t who they’re chasing.”
This helps explain why some people viewed the campaign less as a statement about women in sports and more as a blunt attempt to reach the app’s core audience.
The controversy placed the campaign between two competing identities. Opposing it became a way to stand against the sexualization of women, while defending it became a way to reject that criticism and support the campaign’s intended audience. The debate was no longer only about an advertisement. It became a way for people on both sides to signal who they were.
Before launching a campaign like this, ask yourself four questions.
- Is it targeting your audience?
- Will it alienate potential future customers?
- Do you want to double down on your audience’s negative qualities to achieve your goal?
- Is it worth it?
When using identity signaling, stick to your ethical principles, but do not be afraid to be bold and stand for something. As the familiar saying goes, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”
Make the Message Newsworthy
Is Novig merely a prediction market app, or is it an escape from the stress of your 9-to-5? Did the American Tobacco Company sell cigarettes, or did it sell women the feeling of being as powerful and in control as Aunt Polly Gray, the matriarch of Peaky Blinders?
When agencies write ads or plan publicity stunts for brands like these, they usually start with the message. Traditionally, copywriters, creative directors and art directors develop hundreds of concepts, slogans and headlines before choosing a winner. These campaigns are rarely approved overnight. They go through revisions, feedback and more revisions.
If you want to make your brand famous with a message as powerful as Nike’s “Just Do It”, or get people to line up outside your store as if you were hosting a free Rolling Stones concert, your message needs to be newsworthy. To make your message newsworthy, make sure your campaign has three things.
Uno / Be relevant
Bernays launched the Torches of Freedom campaign when women’s freedom was at the center of political debate. He saw an opportunity to connect smoking with equality and assure women that lighting a cigarette could represent independence.
Novig similarly connected its “Just Sports” campaign to the start of football season on September 9. The company used a major cultural moment to introduce its message about sports, entertainment, and leaving politics out of the experience.
Dos / Use attention triggers
Sex attracts attention and controversy keeps people talking, but they are not the only tools available. Depending on your market, you can use humor, urgency, nostalgia, dramatic before-and-after comparisons or an unpopular and confrontational opinion.
When discussing the campaign, Novig founder Matt Fortinsky said in Sporting News
“Sydney is great at captivating audiences and being the centre of attention. In some sense, it forces us into the national discourse.”
Tres / Own the message
At the time of writing, Novig has chosen not to apologize. The company was willing to put Sydney Sweeney at the center of the campaign despite the risk of backlash. By standing behind the ad, Novig kept control of the message instead of letting its critics define the campaign for them.
Final Thoughts
The campaign has reached millions, sparked anger and excitement, and brought new attention to the debate around women’s sports. It even brought some of you to this blog. I also want to recognize the women athletes who responded by showing their skill, discipline, and hard-earned medals. Their work deserves respect.
From a marketer’s point of view, the goal was likely straightforward. Get men across the country to pay attention, download the app or at least remember Novig. Sweeney also reportedly took an ownership stake, so she wasn’t only part of the campaign. She also had a stake in what it produced.
For businesses developing campaigns, don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Stay consistent with your message, be bold enough to use your brand voice and give people something worth talking about. Start with a strong idea, make it relevant, refine it, refine it again and launch.
Sources
- The Guardian for the reported 22 million views
- People for the athlete responses
- Wikipedia for Bernays and A. A. Brill
- Wikipedia for the Torches of Freedom campaign
- Novig for the campaign’s stated focus and copy
- Clayton Durant for the media mention comparison
- The Australian for Alyce Gillis’s analysis
- Sporting News for Matt Fortinsky’s comments
- PeakMetrics for post focus and social mentions
- Business Insider for the reported increase in mentions
- Front Office Sports for Instagram views as of September 14, 2026
