A sports betting startup has turned to Hollywood star power for its latest marketing push, tapping actress Sydney Sweeney to front a campaign that has quickly become one of the most talked-about ads of the year.
Novig, a sports prediction market, unveiled the commercial featuring the 28-year-old actress appearing nude throughout, with sports equipment strategically placed to cover her body during each scene.
The ad opens with Sweeney addressing viewers in a hushed, deliberate tone. “Think you know sports? Prove it. Novig is just sports,” she says.
One scene shows the actress perched on top of a basketball hoop. “So they wanted a show? Just sports,” she remarks.
The commercial then shifts to Sweeney wearing shoulder pads, with a football shielding her midsection. “You can trade this sport. And this sport,” she tells the camera.
Before the ad ends, Sweeney outlines restrictions built into the platform itself. “No betting on wars or deaths and no politics. Just you, your takes, and sports,” she says.
Reaction poured in across social media within hours of the campaign’s release. “I just got into a car accident,” joked one user reacting to the spot.
Another commenter marveled at the online response Sweeney continues to generate, writing that “She’s got the whole internet malfunctioning.. AGAINNNN.”
Praise for the commercial came from multiple directions, including one user who simply called it the “Greatest ad ever.”
Fans also directed their admiration squarely at Sweeney herself, with one writing, “We are at your feet sidney,” while another added, “Yeah I’m not skipping this ad.”
Among those with a personal stake in the ad’s reception is boyfriend Scooter Braun, the music executive Sweeney has been dating since last year.
Details about the relationship first emerged through a source who spoke to Entertainment Tonight, describing an early stage marked by discretion.
“Sydney and Scooter are still seeing each other and trying to be as low-key as possible, while still dating and having fun,” the source said, adding that “they are just taking things slow and enjoying their time together.”
The relationship had deepened considerably by December, according to a source who spoke to People.
“Scooter and Sydney are going strong and things between them are great,” the source said. “They’re in a committed relationship, and things are serious.”
Sweeney herself opened up about the pressures of dating publicly during a January sit-down with Cosmopolitan.
“Sometimes I’ll think that I can do a normal thing and have a date in a normal way, and then it gets perceived in a very non-normal way,” she said, calling the experience “kind of sad.”
She elaborated on the difficulty of building a private life under constant public observation.
“I understand that I’m a public person, but I’m still in my 20s,” Sweeney explained. “I’m still figuring out love, and it’s hard to do that with millions of people who have their own opinions of what that looks like.”
The actress also described a personal shift away from her career-first approach of years past.
“At the same time, for all of my 20s, I put my head down and focused on work—and now I want to experience things,” she said. “But it’s hard deciding that I want to experience love in the public eye. I’m just navigating it all.”
Braun offered his own perspective on the relationship in May, speaking on the Second Thought With Suzy Weis podcast.
“I’ve met an extraordinary woman who is kind and generous and smart, and real and down to earth,” he said.
The Novig deal adds to a growing list of endorsements for Sweeney, whose profile has risen sharply alongside her acting career.
Not every campaign has been met with celebration, however.
Sweeney’s American Eagle partnership last year drew sharp criticism after the brand used the slogan “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” a wordplay on “great genes.”
Online critics seized on the phrase, arguing it carried undertones tied to eugenics and white supremacist ideology.
Some commentators went further, likening the campaign’s messaging to Nazi propaganda.
Sweeney addressed the fallout in a later interview with People, acknowledging that the scale of the criticism took her by surprise.
“I was honestly surprised by the reaction,” she said. “I did it because I love the jeans and love the brand. I don’t support the views some people chose to connect to the campaign.”
She also rejected the narratives that formed around her involvement in the ad.
“Many have assigned motives and labels to me that just aren’t true,” Sweeney said.
American Eagle stood behind the campaign publicly, insisting its focus had always been on style and self-expression rather than any coded messaging.
The company laid out its position in an August 1 Instagram post.
“‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans,” the post read. “Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
Both campaigns, released roughly a year apart, have shown a similar pattern: intense public reaction followed by public statements aimed at settling the controversy.
