Novig doubles down with second Sydney Sweeney ad

US sports prediction market Novig has released a second commercial starring actor Sydney Sweeney, taking aim at the political and world-event contracts offered by rival prediction markets.

The 30-second ad shows Sweeney in Novig-branded underwear, covering her chest with footballs. Novig’s campaign page carries the script:

“There are grown men making spreadsheets to bet on what color underwear I’m wearing. I mean, I’m flattered? There’s insider trading on dictators dying and armies of bots manipulating it all. There’s someone sitting in a bathroom stall betting their 401k on a war. And then there are people who just trade on sports. Novig is just sports.”

The ad names no competitors. The page sums up the pitch as “No war. No death. No politics. Just sports.”

Novig co-founder and chief executive Jacob Fortinsky told CNBC that trading volume rose by nearly 94 per cent and first-time depositors by more than 218 per cent when comparing the 20 days before and after the first campaign launched in September.

“Ultimately, I think we have nothing to apologize for and are very proud of the work that we did,” Fortinsky said.

Novig says Sweeney is a strategic partner who holds equity. It has not disclosed the size of her stake.

In Australia, Novig is an unlicensed offshore operator and cannot legally offer its product. No prediction market is licensed under Australia’s financial services laws, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has warned Australians about the limited protections available on offshore platforms.