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You Think You Know Sport? Think Again: Sydney Sweeney in Controversial Ad, Again

Sometimes, the easiest way to get people talking is to give them something to “argue” about. Sydney Sweeney’s latest controversial ad proves that a debate can go a long way when it comes to getting people’s attention,

15 September 2026 0 Views

Sydney Sweeney in Novig Ad Cover

TL;DR

Trends
Sydney Sweeney in Novig Ad.
Views
Top video hitting 13.2M+ views in two days.
Why It Works
People don’t have to love the content to engage with it. Having an opinion is enough.
Use It When
You want to spark conversation and turn audience reactions into part of the content.

What is the trend about

The campaign for sports prediction platform Novig features Sweeney in minimal clothing, using various pieces of sports equipment while mimicking different athletic activities.

Sydney Sweeney’s “outfit” lasts for barely eight seconds, and it’s basically underwear plus hockey shin guards.

Released online last Wednesday (9/9), the campaign quickly sparked criticism over the weekend. Several female athletes spoke out, arguing that the ad reduced women in sports to their appearance and took attention away from their achievements.

meme

The interesting part is that the ad gives people something to argue about, which naturally creates conversation, reports, reactions, and response content.

People criticized it, defended it, and responded to it with their own content. Female athletes, for example, posted their own training and competition photos as a response.

T tillykearns
Views 15.6M Shares 51.9K Likes 2.4M

And just like that, where the loop comes in:

Make a bold creative choice > trigger a reaction > people share their take > conversation keeps the content alive.

As we mentioned earlier, here are some creators' reactions to the advert that have been sparked:

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