Sydney Sweeney Reportedly Acted as Hands-on 'Mastermind' for Ad, 'A Competitive Weapon' for Novig

Sydney Sweeney reportedly played a hands-on role in Novig's 'Just Sports' advertising campaign, which launched on 9 September, while also becoming an equity holder and strategic partner in the sports-focused prediction market company.

The campaign shows the actress nude while strategically covered by footballs and other sports equipment. Novig said the national campaign was designed to emphasise its focus on sports markets rather than the broader range of event contracts offered by some rivals.

Sydney Sweeney Novig Ad Went Beyond a Celebrity Endorsement

Novig co-founder and chief executive Jacob Fortinsky said Sweeney approached the company about working together and was interested in becoming a shareholder rather than simply serving as the face of a one-off campaign.

Fortinsky told Front Office Sports that Sweeney was heavily involved in the creative process, saying she drove 'a lot of the visuals and the messaging.' Novig also identified her as a strategic partner and equity holder when it announced the campaign.

The company has not disclosed the size of Sweeney's stake or the full financial terms of the arrangement. Fortinsky also declined to disclose how much she was paid in connection with the advertisement, leaving the overall value and structure of the partnership private.

Fortune separately reported, citing an unnamed source familiar with the private arrangement, that Sweeney acted as a hands-on 'mastermind' during the campaign's development. The source said she helped choose the music, guided camera angles and shot coverage, and revised the script.

Those more detailed claims have not been publicly confirmed point by point by Sweeney or Novig. However, Fortinsky's on-record comments support the broader account that she played a substantial creative role.

The campaign generated significant online attention. Front Office Sports reported on 15 September that Novig's post had exceeded 12 million views on X and 47 million views on Instagram. Fortune reported three days later that Sweeney's Instagram post had attracted more than 1.2 million likes.

Sydney Sweeney Novig Ad Becomes an Attention Strategy

Brand strategist Shruti Saini, an adjunct instructor at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, told Fortune that Sweeney represented more than a conventional celebrity endorsement for a smaller company competing with better-known rivals.

Saini called her a 'competitive weapon,' arguing that the actress had quickly helped bring Novig into the same cultural conversation as Polymarket.

The comparison followed Polymarket's own celebrity-heavy football campaign, released a day earlier. That advertisement featured LeBron James, Derek Jeter, Eli Manning, Spike Lee, Emily Ratajkowski and Alexandra Daddario.

Fortune reported on 18 September that Polymarket's Instagram post had fewer than 55,000 likes, compared with more than 1.2 million for Sweeney's Novig post. The figures represent engagement on the posts cited at that time and do not by themselves establish broader campaign performance.

Saini also cautioned that celebrity-driven attention can be short-lived and cannot indefinitely make up for weaknesses in a company's product, merchandising or brand identity.

Sweeney has previously taken part in attention-grabbing advertising. She appeared in a Dr. Squatch bath advertisement in October 2024 and later said she proposed turning the concept into a limited-edition soap made with her bathwater. In June 2025, 5,000 bars priced at $8 (£5.98) each went on sale and sold out within seconds, according to Fortune.

Her 2025 American Eagle campaign, built around the slogan 'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,' also generated widespread discussion. Some critics interpreted the 'jeans' and 'genes' wordplay as carrying implications about genetics, while American Eagle said the campaign was about denim.

American Eagle later reported that comparable sales at its namesake brand were flat for fiscal 2025. More recently, the company said American Eagle comparable sales fell 1% in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, while overall company comparable sales rose 6%.

Sweeney's Novig partnership differs from a conventional celebrity endorsement because she also holds equity in the business, although the size and terms of that holding have not been disclosed.

For Novig, the longer-term question is whether the attention surrounding Sweeney can translate into sustained interest in the platform. Saini warned that if the celebrity becomes the dominant story, the company risks being overshadowed by its own campaign.