Why Female Athletes Are Fighting Back Against Sydney Sweeney’s New Ad

Female athletes are speaking out against a new ad featuring the actress Sydney Sweeney scantily clad in various sports gear. The backlash is the latest example of female athletes fighting to be valued for their athletic abilities, and not for how they look.

The ad, for sports betting platform Novig, features Sweeney appearing to be naked, with various pieces of sports equipment strategically covering her body. The ad debuted on September 9, and Novig said in a press release that it was their "first national brand campaign." In the same release, Sweeney, who is also an equity holder in Novig, said, "The concept is simple: cut through the noise and put the focus entirely on sports. The campaign brings that idea to life with confidence, humor and a playful edge."

Dozens of high-profile female athletes have already spoken out against the ad. Ariane Titmus, an Olympic swimming champion, described the ad as "a kick in the face to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft."

Amy Hunt, a British track star and Olympic medalist, gave her opinion of the ad 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 added that she thought the ad could deter young women from pursuing sports.

Other female athletes agree that the ad detracts from what it takes to be a female athlete. In an Instagram post, American gymnast Gracie Kramer shared footage of herself competing, along with the description, "This is what a woman in sport looks like." Her post has received more than 1.2 million likes. According to The Guardian , hundreds of athletes followed her lead and have posted photos of themselves competing.

Novig did not respond to a request for comment about the female athletes' reaction to the ad.

Female Athletes Have Been Fighting This Battle For Decades

The backlash against the ad isn't just about the nudity. It reflects a decades-long struggle over how women in sports are portrayed. Scantily clad women were once routinely used to sell male-oriented products ranging from cars and auto parts to hamburgers. Major brands have largely moved away from this advertising strategy, but female athletes continue to struggle to escape the persistent focus on their appearance. Here's some background.

In 2004, FIFA president Sepp Blatter suggested female soccer players could increase the game's popularity by wearing sexier outfits. "Let the women play in more feminine clothes, like they do in volleyball," Blatter 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. The volleyball rules were later modified to give players more options of what they could wear.

Media coverage also focused on female athletes' appearance. Between 2012 and 2016, women appeared on only 10% of Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine covers, but when they appeared, they were more likely to be shown in sexually objectifying poses and scant clothing. Male athletes were more often depicted in their uniform and actively playing their sports.

There are signs this is changing. A review of 64 studies published between 1994 and 2024 found that although sports media have generally focused more on female athletes' appearance and sexuality and less on their athletic performance, more recent studies show there has been greater emphasis on women's athletic abilities and accomplishments. Nonetheless, sexualized portrayals haven't completely disappeared.

That history and recent progress helps explain why the Sweeney ad struck a nerve. Female athletes see it as a step backward.

Nonetheless, selling products with scantily clad women may still be effective. 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 me via email.

Although the ad may be resonating with men, appealing to a target audience is only one measure of an ad's success. Companies also have to consider how their advertising impacts their business partners and all of their customers.

Good Good Golf learned that lesson just last month. After releasing an ad depicting violence against a woman, retailers including Dick's Sporting Goods and Target pulled Good Good merchandise, and the company lost an opportunity to sponsor a PGA Tour and a reality show. Surveys also indicated that Good Good may have alienated their female customer base.

Novig may have also lost some potential female customers. "Every brand faces the same question with work like this: who are you willing to lose in order to win someone else? 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," Kelly explained.

In addition, Novig also has partnerships that could face scrutiny. The New York Mets, an organization that has promoted girls and women in sports, are currently partnering with the company but did not respond to a request for comment about whether the Sweeney campaign would impact that relationship.