Sydney Sweeney is back in a new ad for Novig. The 30-second spot for the sports-only prediction market keeps the “just sports” slogan from the September launch ad, but this time takes aim at insider trading, bots, and war bets elsewhere in the industry.
Key Takeaways
- Sydney Sweeney’s new Novig ad mocks insider trading on “dictators dying” and bets on war.
- Novig posted the 30-second spot on Oct. 11, a month after its Sept. 9 launch ad drew athletes’ criticism.
A Sports-Only Pitch Aimed at Rivals’ Other Markets
Novig posted the 30-second ad on X on Sunday, Oct. 11, with the caption “No dictators. No market manipulation. No insider trading. No BS. Just sports.” Sweeney, who joined the company as an equity holder, appears topless again and opens with a joke about the markets themselves: “There are grown men making spreadsheets to bet on what color underwear I’m wearing. I mean, I’m flattered?”
The spot then turns on the rest of the industry. “There’s insider trading on dictators dying and armies of bots manipulating it all. There’s someone sitting in a bathroom stall betting their 401(k) on a war,” Sweeney says, before contrasting those markets with “people who just trade on sports.” She names no competitors, though Kalshi and Polymarket, the two biggest platforms in the sector, both run markets on elections and world events as well as games.
Insider trading claims have dogged the sector: Kalshi is investigating suspicious trades tied to President Donald Trump’s pick of Katie Zacharia as White House press secretary, including at least three small bets placed before news of her selection emerged, among them a $19 wager set to pay $1,896, The Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 9, citing a company spokesperson. In April, the Justice Department charged a U.S. soldier with using classified information about the operation to capture Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro to make more than $400,000 on Polymarket.
The new spot builds on the campaign’s Sept. 9 launch ad, in which Sweeney posed nude behind sports equipment and promised “no betting on wars or deaths, and no politics.” That ad drew criticism from female athletes, including Australian Olympic swimming champion Ariarne Titmus, who said it sexualized women’s sport. Sweeney’s “Euphoria” co-star Sharon Stone told People it was up to Sweeney “to take responsibility for her actions” but not up to Stone to judge her, adding: “We can’t denigrate women’s sports to get men’s attention so they can gamble.”
Novig says the launch ad paid off. Co-founder and CEO Jacob Fortinsky said earlier this month that trading volume rose nearly 94% in the 20 days before and after the campaign launched, though that window also included the start of the NFL season.