Novig Volume ‘Up 94%’ Thanks to Sydney Sweeney Ad, NFL Start

Novig co-founder Jacob Fortinsky has said that trading volume on the prediction market platform increased by 94% before and after that Sydney Sweeney ad dropped.

Speaking to CNBC, Fortinsky also revealed that first-time deposits had risen over 200%. Who says sex doesn’t sell?

Novig grabbed column inches last month after posting a viral ad promoting “just sports”. The commercial featured The Housemaid star virtually nude but covered in a variety of sporting equipment.

The ad drew as much criticism as it did web traffic and ultimately didn’t do the Novig platform any harm whatsoever. However, it has raised awareness of how prediction markets promote their platforms.

Sweeney Ad Gets 2.6M Views

The two-minute Novig ad highlighted the platform’s sole focus on sports. Unlike competitors like Polymarket and Kalshi, Novig doesn’t do politics or the economy.

The aim of the campaign was to show that Novig doesn’t do “betting on wars or deaths, and no politics.” That was a clear swipe at its bigger rivals, who have got into hot water over offering markets on everything from the arrest of world leaders to the timing of the Iran offensive.

Novig only launched in August but has wasted no time trying to fight for its position among heavyweight rivals, such as Kalshi and Polymarket.

The controversial Sydney Sweeney ad now has over 2.6 million views on YouTube. The start of the NFL season has also boosted the platform's traffic.

Novig backed up its initial ad with a 16-second follow-up promoting responsible gambling. Sweeney appears not nude this time but dressed in a Novig-branded hockey jersey.

Novig’s Numbers: The Sweeney Effect

• Trading Volume Before/After the Ad: +94%
• First-time Depositors: +218%
• Active users (month-over-month): +96%
• Active users (year-over-year): +260%

(Numbers: CNBC)

Sydney Sweeney Ad Gets Pro Backlash

Ad men and women aren’t stupid and it was perhaps inevitable that the Novig Sydney Sweeney ad would receive such attention.

There was a big backlash from prominent sportswomen following the ad going live.

“Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like,” said British runner, Amy Hunt, after performing at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship. “Muscles. Hard work, blood, sweat, tears. This is a beautiful evening.”

Gymnast Gracie Kramer added that, “to see women's sports once again being marketed through the male gaze feels like a massive step backward.”

However, it’s not the first time Sweeney has been involved in a controversial ad campaign. The ‘Sydney Sweeney Had Great Jeans’ campaign for American Eagle drew criticism over its use of language, with critics targeting the apparent play on the word “genes”.

Novig: ‘Nothing to Apologize For’

Fortinsky shrugged off the backlash surrounding the original Sweeney ad, saying he was “very proud” of the video. “We have nothing to apologize for,” he added.

Novig is obviously gunning for a quick catch-up of its larger rivals. It went live in the summer and achieved volume of $125 million during its Week 1 trading.

The prediction market exchange is now worth a reported $2 billion following its latest funding round. That’s four time its original valuation of half a billion dollars, according to the Wall Street Journal.

It has also emerged that Sydney Sweeney herself has some skin in the game. The actress is apparently an equity investor in the platform.

But, according to Fortinsky, Novig shows no sign of stopping ruffling feathers.

“We have to be willing to take outsized risk relative to the size of the company, doing that in a responsible way, of course,” he told CNBC. “I think we will continue to embody that aggressive risk-taking culture.”