The Sydney Sweeney Effect: Novig Deposits, Downloads Surge Following Actress’s Racy Commercial

In the advertising industry, it’s often said that “sex sells” and that old saying is proving accurate as it relates to Novig’s commercials starring Sydney Sweeney.

The first spot starring the sultry actress debuted in September. Since then, downloads of Novig’s mobile application surged nearly 261% while first-time deposits on the prediction market soared by almost 362%, reports AdAge, citing the company.

In the commercials, “The White Lotus” star leaves little to the imagination, wearing skimpy underwear and sports equipment to provide other “coverage” while highlighting Novig’s status as a sports-only prediction market.

In her debut Novig spot, Sweeney points out that rival yes/no exchanges allow clients to buy event contracts on unsavory topics—including war and political unrest—while emphasizing Novig’s strict sports-first posture.

Novig Doubling Down With Sweeney

For years, consumer industries courting young male demographics—a core target audience for prediction markets—have featured attractive actresses in their marketing campaigns. That is to say Novig knows its customer base and it’s not surprising the company would embrace the idea of an ad campaign starring Sweeney – an actress widely known to many of the young men who are active prediction market traders.

Prior to the AdAge report, Novig was quiet on the effects of the first Sweeney commercial, but the signs were there that it had a favorable economic impact. It was certainly controversial and met with criticism, but history confirms that across an array of industries, hot-button advertising delivers desired results when the campaigns are properly targeted.

In another clear sign that the first Sweeney commercial was a hit, Novig rolled out another spot with the “Euphoria” star last week and it’s essentially a sequel to the first ad because she’s still not wearing much clothing while highlighting Novig’s emphasis on sports event derivatives.

Likely a Coincidence, But…

It’s like a coincidence, but just three weeks after Sweeney’s first Novig commercial dropped, reports surfaced that the company’s valuation swelled to $2 billion from $500 million earlier this year.

Novig’s talks with investors likely predated the debut of the commercial, but at a minimum, financial backers’ willingness to assign a significantly higher multiple to the company isn’t deterred by sexy advertising campaigns.

The deal works to Sweeney’s financial benefit as well: the actress directly approached Novig regarding the endorsement deal and opted to take her compensation in equity rather than cash.