Advertising Age reported on Powerade—via Ogilvy, WPP Open X, and WPP Production—taking a performative stand against the Sydney Sweeney Novig campaign.
It’s dim-witted divertsity, divertorial, and divertisement drivel.
As previously noted, a naked Sweeney plays perfectly to the young male-dominated Novig audience.
On the flipside, who is Powerade appealing to? The social post depicted above addresses an exclusive bunch.
Most Powerade fans wouldn’t know Ogilvy, WPP Open X, or WPP Production. Hell, the majority of WPP drones display indifference to the segregated silos.
Powerade brags about its alleged legacy of supporting women’s sports. Okay, does The Coca-Cola Company award the average woman athlete the same $pokesperson contract as her male commercial counterpart? Don’t bet on it.
Powerade continues to run a distant second to Gatorade. And now the brand is striking out against Sweeney’s curves.
Powerade rebukes Novig’s nearly naked Sydney Sweeney ads
By Jon Springer
Powerade has delivered a response to Novig’s scantily clad Sydney Sweeney campaign: women’s sports have never been “just” sports. The Coca-Cola-owned sports drink brand is joining the backlash against the prediction market company’s controversial creative with its own digital outdoor ads that celebrate women athletes’ determination and resilience. Supported by content on Powerade’s social channels, the work turns Novig’s “Just Sports” slogan into a rebuke of the ads that have been criticized for sexualizing women in sports.
Ogilvy, part of WPP’s dedicated Coke agency, Open X, touted the campaign in a social media post today that emphasized Powerade’s history of supporting female athletes. The post depicts the response running in Times Square with an adjacent image of the Novig ad.
“When the conversation around how women are portrayed in sports started to pick up, we felt it was important for Powerade to share our perspective and reinforce what’s always been at the heart of our brand: athletes,” Leah Macko, Powerade’s VP of brand marketing, said in a statement.
“We’ve long believed that there’s no ‘just’ about what it takes to compete, especially for women in sports, so we saw this as an opportunity to celebrate the determination, resilience and impact female athletes bring to their sport,” she said.
Novig’s “Just Sports” campaign, which launched Sept. 9, features Sweeney appearing almost nude—with only strategically placed sports equipment covering her body—to promote its focus on the sports prediction market. The campaign spans digital advertising, social media, online video and out-of-home placements, including in Times Square, throughout football season.
Novig did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Powerade campaign.
After its debut last month, many female athletes swiftly denounced the ads for sexualizing women and undermining their achievements in sports.
But Novig has since doubled down, releasing a second Sweeney spot over the weekend called “No BS.” The company cited rising trading activity and a spike in app downloads as evidence that the campaign is working.
Sweeney is an equity investor in Novig and helped shape creative direction and strategy, including by suggesting that Novig center its message around its sports-only focus, according to Novig CEO Jacob Fortinsky. The “Just Sports” campaign was developed in-house, led by head of creative Alex Thompson, working with Sweeney.
“We have enormous respect for female athletes and the continued growth of women’s sports,” Fortinsky told Ad Age. “We’re focused exclusively on sports. Sydney’s not a female athlete and was not claiming to be one.”
Powerade’s investments in women’s sports include two NCAA March Madness campaigns with Flau’Jae Johnson, Paris Olympics work featuring Sha’Carri Richardson and Katie Grimes, and campaigns with Alex Morgan and Tatjana Smith. The brand said it will continue that support in 2027 through its partnerships with the U.S. Women’s National Team and the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Contributing: Brian Bonilla
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