I am sure by now everyone has seen Sydney Sweeney’s ad for the sports betting app, Novig. The actress appears in multiple clips promoting different sports where she is primarily nude or partially covered by sports equipment. After intense backlash from many professional female athletes, Sweeney posted pictures of models from ESPN’s The Body Issue magazine, protesting that her campaign was the same as theirs.
The ESPN Body Issue, however, is designed to promote body positivity. It includes articles from female athletes about their mental health, self-esteem, and body image journeys to support and encourage readers and fellow athletes. Unlike those athletes, Sweeney’s ad promotes a commercial sports betting app with which she has a partnership. According to findings from the Research Institute At Siena University, as of April 2026, “27% of Americans and half of men ages 18-49 (52%) [say] they have an active account with an online sportsbook” (Institute, 2026). Noting that the primary target of online betting is the male demographic, we can’t help but wonder: what does Sweeney’s new campaign have to say about the female ideals and stereotypes we advertise in our society?
As an actress and businesswoman, what Sweeney decides to do with her body is her own choice. This article is not an attack on her by any means. There are probably already many articles criticizing her actions for their impact on female athletes, as well as articles that are unfairly disrespecting Sweeney as a person rather than critiquing those behind the campaign. My goal is to shift the focus. This article is a deep dive into the systems of female objectification in America.
My next question: Why would Novig select a woman who is completely unassociated with professional athletics to represent their brand? Why is it that for some reason, sexualizing a woman who is 1) not an athlete and 2) fits the skinny, blonde, blue-eyed societal stereotype of the “perfect woman” is thought to be a clever way to bring attention to a sports betting app?
Sweeney responded to early criticism by telling the press that, “The concept is simple: cut through the noise and put the focus entirely on sports” (How, 2026). This idea is the slogan of the ad, as Sweeney repeats the phrase “Just sports” in almost every clip to highlight how the platform avoids bias or politics. How can an ad be “just about sports” when a nude non-athlete woman is the face of it?
Despite these key contradictions, the ad has certainly gained popularity and publicity. The fact that it took a naked woman to make an ad go viral should concern everyone, whether you are a woman, man, athlete, sports fan, or none of the above.
Women in sports have been fighting against sexualization and towards equal representation and respect for decades. How far does Sydney’s ad set us back?
To me, this ad depicts how little things have actually changed for women. While, yes, we have made progress and gained representation in new fields over the years, a deep-rooted cycle persists: women continue to be sexualized and objectified, through advertisements like this one. As I have been learning in my Intro to Gender and Women’s Studies course here at Bucknell, no single individual is to blame for the way this system is. Rather, as a whole, we have failed to reshape the system. It is not just men, but women as well, that are allowing this system to thrive. Real protest begins with moving away from strict gender expectations in childhood and grows bigger like ensuring women do not feel like posing provocatively for an app’s male-audience is a money-guarantee.
Something needs to change, and it’s not necessarily Sweeney’s choice of how to promote her body. Perhaps this is a good time of self reflection to see how oneself is personally rooted in the system of oppressing women and what steps one can take, so less women feel the pressure to use their bodies to make money, or feel that is the only way to make a profitable career.
Works Cited:
Institute, P. B. S. R. (2026, April 13). Home. Siena Research Institute. https://sri.siena.edu/2026/04/13/more-than-a-quarter-of-americans-27-have-an-active-online-sports-betting-account-a-third-have-opened-an-account-at-least-once/
How sports betting app novig trolls us with its Sydney Sweeney ads. Northeastern Global News. (2026, September 14). https://news.northeastern.edu/2026/09/14/sydney-sweeney-ad-novig/