Is Sydney Sweeney stupid, or is she a Financial Mastermind?

But I have no intention of demanding what you think; however, I do think that before we form an opinion, we should understand the logic behind why we think what we think, as the controversy isn’t a side effect; rather, it’s the anticipated result that explains why this advertising campaign works. 

Backlash can push an obscure, unknown site into mainstream cultural discussion in a very short time. Differences in opinions spark discussion, good or bad, but they're all related to the advertised brand. And thanks to today’s shortened attention spans, advertisements that transmit direct messages to an audience no longer work (which is exactly why YouTube ads have a “skip ad” button). So if a brand wants to differentiate itself and be remembered, it needs the audience to bring their own contextual interpretations to its advertisements. 

And quite frankly, none of these opinions matter this campaign succeeded because, from a marketing preceded. Novig, the brand, did a poor job of naming itself and has no imagery, sports, or betting to support it whatsoever.  Because of this ad, however, it went from a platform that no one knows how to pronounce to the trending topic of the month, and now I can’t even get rid of it on my fyp. The TikTok searches for Novig increased ninefold in one week. This is exactly what Novig was anticipating: heat, debate, and fame — all thanks to Sweeney. And, not so shockingly, Sydney Sweeney owns equity in Novig as part of this endorsement deal, even before anything was released. She was expecting the backlash.

This marketing distribution mechanism is paradoxical; great female athletes such as Gracie Kramer, Ariane Timmons, and Amy Hunt have publicly criticized this Novig ad. But diabolically, through the act of posting to their own fanbase, the athletes also increased the platform’s exposure. It really is free advertising for Novig. But at the same time, you can’t just refuse to discuss it either, because then we would essentially be allowing its message to go unchallenged. Before this ad, you had no idea or opinion whatsoever about Novig because you didn’t know it existed. But in the near future, I anticipate conversations that go as follows: 

”Novig? What is that?”

“You know, that ad Sydney Sweeney did where she sat nude on a basketball hoop?”

“Oh yeah”

So what good does this bring Sydney Sweeney? Let’s look back at her previous infamous “great jeans” American Eagle commercial in 2025. After that campaign, she became a symbol, associated with ever more controversial advertising. As a result, the media and the public gradually developed a fixed narrative around her. Based on that (and the intro to this very article), we can already predict the media’s narrative surrounding Sweeney’s next campaign: “Following her controversial campaigns with American Eagle and Novig, Sydney Sweeney is once again blah blah blah…”Through conversations like the above, the controversy will be constantly brought up, increasing the secondary exposure of these brands from previous collaborations. At that point, hiring her guarantees long-term advertising and generates attention. 

To the brands, attention is very valuable. In 2025, American Eagle was already facing a very serious financial crisis. But after Sydney Sweeney’s campaign, Wall Street Journal reports that the brand's stock price surged by 23% to 30%, and its market value increased by $400 million. And the jeans? Yeah, it sold out. Shortly after that, American Eagle announced a second campaign with Sydney Sweeney.

In no way am I defending this ad that sexualizes female athletes. But while we are remaining angry about certain phenomena, we should also learn to understand the logic behind them. Otherwise, our emotions can be manipulated until we ourselves become part of the marketing trap. And at the end of the day, if you are looking for the next big thing in stocks, maybe keep an eye out for Sydney’s next big campaign.