An ad featuring Sydney Swine angered the Olympic champions
Sydney Swine's new ad for the Novig sports platform has sparked a wave of criticism among professional female athletes. The actress poses nearly nude, covering herself with sports equipment, while Olympic champions consider this approach inappropriate for an ad promoting sports.
"Euphoria" star Sydney Sweeney has become the face of a new advertising campaign for the Novig sports platform. But instead of a typical sports ad, the company opted for a provocative approach. The campaign is titled “Just Sports.” In the video, the 28-year-old Sweeney appears practically naked. Her body is covered by soccer balls, hockey equipment, tennis rackets, and other sports gear.
The campaign’s main slogan is: “Think you know sports? Prove it.” The idea behind the ad is to literally show “just sports” without any unnecessary clothing or details. However, this concept did not sit well with everyone. The reaction from female professional athletes was particularly harsh. Olympic champions and representatives of various sports joined in the criticism.
Australian swimmer and Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus stated that such advertising contradicts what female athletes have been fighting for over the years. In her view, women in sports have had to constantly prove that they should be judged first and foremost by their results, skill, and physical strength. Therefore, the sexualized portrayal of women in sports advertising risks shifting the discussion back to appearance rather than athletic achievements.
Water polo player Tilly Kerns, swimmer Lani Pallister, gymnast Gracie Kramer, and other female athletes also joined the discussion. Some of them began posting videos of their training sessions and athletic performances. In this way, they showcased another side of women’s sports—training, physical effort, competition, and results.
At the same time, there’s an important detail. Swinney isn’t just a guest actress in this campaign who appeared in the ad for a fee. The actress has become a strategic partner and shareholder of Novig. Furthermore, she was involved in creating the advertising campaign itself. Therefore, the criticism isn’t directed solely at the brand. Swinney is also directly linked to the concept of the ad and its promotion.
However, from a marketing perspective, the campaign has already brought Novig a tremendous amount of attention. After the ad was released, people began talking about the platform much more. According to Meltwater data cited by Inc., the number of mentions of Novig in a week rose from approximately 392 to 4,633. That represents an increase of about 1,180%. So the ad, which was intended to draw attention to the sports platform, certainly worked. However, along with the attention, the brand has also faced serious criticism.
A debate is raging on social media about where to draw the line between provocative advertising, freedom of expression, and the sexualization of women in sports. Some users view the campaign as simply a bold marketing move. Others agree with the athletes and believe that women’s sports are once again being reduced to physical appearance.
For Sydney Sweeney, this isn’t the first high-profile controversy surrounding an advertising campaign. In 2025, she found herself at the center of a debate over an American Eagle ad that played on the words “great jeans” and “great genes.” At the time, some viewers accused the campaign of having racist undertones.
This time, the story has once again gone far beyond the realm of ordinary advertising. Novig received a huge number of mentions, and Sweney found herself at the center of a discussion about how women should be portrayed in a sports context today. This was reported by Deadline.
