The Sydney Sweeney ad has sparked a fierce backlash from female athletes across the sporting world. The actress appears scantily clad in various pieces of sports gear throughout the campaign. Dozens of high-profile competitors have now spoken out against it. Their anger is not really about nudity, though. It is about a much older fight over how women in sport get valued.
The Campaign That Started The Firestorm
The ad promotes Novig, a sports prediction platform and trading app. Sweeney appears to be naked, with sports equipment strategically covering her body. The campaign debuted on September 9, and Novig called it its “first national brand campaign” in a press release.
Sweeney, who also holds equity in Novig, defended the concept in that same release. “The concept is simple: cut through the noise and put the focus entirely on sports,” she said. She added that the campaign brings that idea to life with confidence, humor, and a playful edge.
Not everyone found it playful.
The Athletes Leading The Charge
Ariane Titmus, an Olympic swimming champion, described the Sydney Sweeney ad as “a kick in the face to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft.” Her words landed hard because they named the real grievance. Female athletes spend decades honing skill, and the campaign reduced that effort to a visual prop.
Amy Hunt, a British track star and Olympic medalist, shared her view on Good Morning Britain. “When we’re trying to provide role models for young people and young women in sport, we really want to show that it’s about what your body can do, not so much what it looks like,” she said. Hunt warned the campaign could deter young women from pursuing sport at all.
American gymnast Gracie Kramer took a different route. She posted images of herself competing on Instagram with a pointed caption: “This is what a woman in sport looks like.” Her post drew more than 1.2 million likes. According to The Guardian, hundreds of athletes followed her lead and shared their own competition photos.
Novig did not respond to a request for comment about the athletes’ reaction.
A Decades-Long Battle Over How Women In Sport Are Portrayed
The backlash is not new territory. It reflects a struggle that stretches back decades. Scantily clad women were once a staple of advertising aimed at men, selling everything from cars to hamburgers. Major brands have largely abandoned that playbook, yet female athletes still fight to escape the focus on their appearance.
In 2004, then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter suggested that female soccer players could boost the game’s popularity by wearing sexier outfits. “Let the women play in more feminine clothes, as they do in volleyball,” he proposed. “They could, for example, have tighter shorts. Female players are pretty,” he added. At the time, women’s beach volleyball uniforms were limited to a maximum of 2.8 inches on the sides, though the rules were later changed to give players more options.
Media coverage followed a similar pattern. Between 2012 and 2016, women appeared on only 10% of the covers of Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine. When they did appear, they were more likely to be shown in sexually objectifying poses and scant clothing. Male athletes were more often depicted in uniform and actively competing.
There are signs of progress. A review of 64 studies published between 1994 and 2024 found that sports media has generally emphasized female athletes’ appearance over their performance. More recent studies, however, show a greater focus on women’s athletic abilities and accomplishments. Even so, sexualized portrayals have not disappeared. That history explains why the Sydney Sweeney ad struck such a nerve.
The Old Strategy May Still Work On Men
Selling products with scantily clad women may still deliver results, at least with one audience. Consumer research company Zappi tested reaction to the Novig ad by surveying 200 nationally representative online gamblers. A whopping 73.4% of men said the ad made them more likely to choose Novig, compared with 42.0% of women. Meanwhile, 32.8% of women said the ad made them less likely to choose the brand, versus just 8.4% of men.
“That suggests the creative may be doing what it was designed to do with its core male audience—but at a meaningful cost among women,” Nataly Kelly, chief marketing officer at Zappi, told Forbes via email. Think of it like a restaurant that fills its tables with one loud crowd, only to scare off every other diner. The room looks full, but the business narrows.
Why Alienating Women Comes With A Cost
Reaching a target audience is only one measure of success. Companies must also weigh how their advertising affects partners and the wider customer base.
Good Good Golf learned that lesson last month. After releasing an ad depicting violence against a woman, retailers including Dick’s Sporting Goods and Target pulled Good Good merchandise. The company also lost a chance to sponsor a PGA Tour event and a reality show. Surveys indicated that the brand may have alienated its female customers as well.
Novig may face similar fallout. “Every brand faces the same question with work like this: who are you willing to lose in order to win someone else?” Kelly explained. “This ad moved men toward Novig and moved women who already bet online away from it, and women are now around 26% of that market.”
Partnerships could face scrutiny as well. The New York Mets, an organization that has promoted girls and women in sports, currently partners with Novig. The team did not respond to a request for comment about whether the Sydney Sweeney ad would affect that relationship.
What The Backlash Really Signals
The athletes speaking out are not asking for modesty. They are asking for accuracy. Sport is about what a body can do, not what it looks like under a spotlight.
That message has clearly found an audience. Hundreds of competitors posted their own images in response. Their collective answer to the campaign was simple and loud.
Meanwhile, the numbers tell a quieter story. The Sydney Sweeney ad may win Novig more male customers. It may also cost the brand the women who already bet, watch, and play.
Which reaction stood out to you most? Tell us in the comments. Share this with someone who follows women’s sport.
