Why Sydney Sweeney’s recent commercial is a complete disgrace
Photo Courtesy of Fernando Frazão de Agência Brasil- Wikimedia Commons
If you are like me, you saw the abomination of a commercial that Sydney Sweeney starred in and wanted to throw your phone across the room. At some point, Sydney Sweeney has to acknowledge that she is actively making a mockery of herself and harming every woman who has worked tirelessly to break the mold that they have been forced into.
If you have not seen the commercial, the main point is to promote the sports trading app Novig. My first issue with this choice of message is that, as reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting, women experience violence at increased rates due to men losing sports bets. Secondly, multiple female athletes have spoken out about how they have received hateful messages because of the uprise in gambling. Courtney Williams—who plays for the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA—recently shared a voice message sent to her by a man where he angrily commented on her performance in the game and how he lost his bet. Courtney Williams proceeded to respond by calling him out for the mockery, but this all contributes to the constant backlash athletes—especially women—face because of sports gambling and misogyny.
In the commercial, Sydney Sweeney is positioned in various different sports themed settings wearing little to no clothing. Nothing about what she portrayed advertises sports trading or encourages women in sports; Sweeney’s vulgar scenes make a mockery of female athletes and directly combat everything that female athletes have had to fight against. So many women are oversexualized or have had their talents downplayed because they are women, and Sweeney’s commercial is another slap in the face for those who have had to work for everything that they have accomplished.
Marissa Womack, manager of game day promotions and programming for the Harrisburg Senators, said, “This [criticism] isn’t about me being jealous or insecure of [Sweeney]. … it’s about the fact that this is already a male-dominated field where we are constantly having to prove why we belong. [I]t’s about having passions and joy working in this industry and when the only representation is sexualization, you see less and less young women wanting to pursue this industry!”
Furthermore, this advertisement is not suitable to be shown on television without an age restriction or warning. I cannot imagine any parent would be okay with their younger children watching this commercial during a break in their show or sports game. There has already been an uproar across social media platforms because of the fact there is no age rating on the commercial and young children are being subjected to this disgusting display.
As a whole, many women are disheartened by the way companies and actors continue to produce commercials at the expense of women. Oversexualization and violence are not things to make a profit on and this controversy comes in light of the Callaway and Good Good Golf ad that promoted domestic violence. Recently, these companies entered a brand partnership where they released a commercial that made light of domestic violence. Following backlash, the commercial was removed and an apology was released to the public.
This cycle will continue until society stops perpetuating these disgusting displays of misogyny. Although Sydney Sweeney was not portraying a female athlete, the message remains the same. Why does a company need to promote a sports trading app with a naked woman? That notion itself argues that men are the ones who watch sports and play them because the commercial is being targeted to the male gaze and it leaves no room for female athlete representation or inclusion.