Using controversy as a marketing tactic is a time-honored tactic, but Sydney Sweeney does it better than most. After generating uproar—and a ton of buzz—with last year’s American Eagle “great jeans” ad campaign, Sweeney stoked outrage to new heights this week with a provocative video for sports prediction market startup Novig. In the minute-long social media ad, Sweeney talks up the platform while wearing no clothes, and barely covering herself with a football and various other sports gear.
Unsurprisingly, the campaign has sparked debate over the sexualization of women in sports. At the same time, though, the ad titled “Just Sports” stands out both for its eye-popping performance—tens of millions of views across X and Instagram—and for the unusual business arrangement that underlies it: One where Sweeney obtained a share of the company rather than a simple endorsement check.
Novig CEO Jacob Fortinsky recently revealed that Sweeney approached the company about collaborating because she was attracted to its exclusive focus on sports-event contracts and wanted to become a shareholder rather than simply serve as the face of a one-off campaign, according to Front Office Sports. Unlike competitors such as Polymarket and Kalshi, which offer markets on topics ranging from politics and war to culture, Novig focuses solely on sports—an approach that Fortinsky says drew Sweeney to the company and was reflected in the ad’s script.
Novig declined to comment when Fortune asked about the terms of Sweeney’s equity partnership, including the size of her stake in the company.
The Sweeney deal comes at a time when prediction markets are scrambling for celebrity endorsements to drive engagement and user growth. Just 24 hours before Novig’s campaign with Sweeney was released, Polymarket posted a similarly timed advertisement on social media featuring A-list athletes including LeBron James, Derek Jeter and Eli Manning, as well as celebrities such as Spike Lee, Emily Ratajkowski and Alexandra Daddario.
Polymarket has not publicly disclosed how much it spent on the campaign. But one report states the prediction market company—which is valued at more than $20 billion and has nearly 2 million followers on X—is paying James $15 million a year under its partnership. Jeter and Manning reportedly have smaller endorsement deals, while other celebrities were paid for a one-time appearance. Despite what was likely a far larger investment, Polymarket’s campaign generated less engagement than Novig’s. On Instagram, Polymarket’s post received fewer than 55,000 likes, while Sweeney’s Novig post drew more than 1.2 million.
The contrast is especially striking given that Novig is valued at roughly $500 million. Under the terms of her equity partnership, Sweeney could stand to benefit significantly from Novig’s future success as the earlier-stage company seeks to compete with larger rivals.
Sweeney’s involvement in the campaign extended beyond her financial stake. Under the terms of the agreement, she also served as a creative partner. According to a source familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified in order to discuss private business arrangements, Sweeney acted as a hands-on “mastermind” who shaped every stage of the creative, commercial and visual process. She oversaw the choice of music, guided specific camera angles and shot coverage, and revised the script.
A “competitive weapon”
For early-stage platforms entering categories dominated by heavily funded incumbents, a viral endorsement can serve as a vital equalizer.
“If you’re Novig, you probably can’t outspend Polymarket. So you have to out-attention them,” Shruti Saini, a brand strategist and adjunct professor at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, told Fortune.
Enter Sydney Sweeney.
“She’s not even a simple endorsement—she’s a competitive weapon. Within hours, one person put this relatively unknown company into the same cultural conversation as Polymarket,” Saini added.
Novig is not the first campaign in which Sweeney has taken a hands-on role in shaping a viral moment. In October 2024, the actress appeared submerged in a bubble bath in an advertisement for Dr. Squatch, a men’s personal-care brand. The ad quickly went viral.
To capitalize on the attention, Sweeney later said in an interview that she had personally pitched the idea of selling a limited-edition soap made with her actual bathwater. The release was limited to 5,000 bars priced at $8 each and sold out within seconds. While the product’s sales potential was capped, the campaign generated nearly 90,000 Instagram likes and more than 45,000 reshares.
While virality can generate significant attention, its impact tends to be short-lived, Saini noted.
Sweeney’s July 2025 campaign for American Eagle illustrated the limits of a one-time partnership based on controversy. When Sweeney was unveiled as the face of the retailer’s campaign, its slogan—“Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans”—drew criticism from some who viewed “jeans” as a play on “genes” and interpreted it as an endorsement of eugenics and conventional beauty standards.
The controversy initially benefited American Eagle, which was facing pressure at the time from President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China—where the retailer sourced a significant amount of its production. Two months before the campaign with Sweeney, American Eagle reported that the tariff policies could have a roughly $5 million to $10 million impact on earnings. In the immediate aftermath of its debut, the campaign achieved strong commercial momentum—driving widespread social reach, attracting new customers, selling out denim items and triggering an initial increase in investor enthusiasm.
But over time, the publicly traded company revealed in financial disclosures that its core brand did not show sustained sales growth after the campaign. About a year after the ad aired, the company’s stock had also returned to roughly where it was before the campaign.
“Advertising, marketing, [and] partnerships with celebrities can absolutely create momentum, but [they] can’t really compensate indefinitely for product, merchandising, and unclear brand identity,” Saini said of the American Eagle campaign.
In Novig’s case, she noted that a sports betting platform may risk becoming a “supporting character” in its own advertising, given the overwhelming attention on Sweeney.
Whether Novig works with Sweeney again—and how it does so—will determine the partnership’s lasting value for everyone involved.
“Being bold is part of brand building. Don’t shy away from [it], but recognize that it shouldn’t be for short-term gimmicks because that can only take you so far.”
