Good Good Got Fired. Novig Got Paid. The Outrage Economy Has Rules.

In August, Good Good Golf co-founder Garrett Clark appeared in an ad for a Callaway driver. He told female golfer Alexis Miestowski not to touch his bag, then shoved her to the ground. The companies called it a horror-movie parody. By August 28, Callaway had ended its three-year partnership, pledged $1 million to organizations preventing violence against women, and Golf Channel had postponed the "Big Break x Good Good" reality show. Dick's Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy pulled all Good Good merchandise from shelves.

Three weeks later, Novig released a campaign showing Sydney Sweeney holding two footballs, riding a basketball hoop in strategically placed nudity, and eventually pulling on a Novig jersey. The backlash was loud, sustained, and global. The consequences for Novig were not equivalent.

Clark called the Callaway piece "the worst ad known to man" in an eight-minute YouTube video. Callaway CEO Chip Brewer stated: "That approval should never have happened. Mistakes were made." PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp told ESPN Good Good's response was "a bit defensive and late" and "clearly not aligned with PGA Tour values."

Novig's version of the same week

Four-time Olympic gold medalist Ariarne Titmus called the Novig ad "infuriating," per Fortune. Australian surfer Felicity Palmateer asked "How far can you put women's sports backwards?" The outrage reached the same temperature. No Novig partner terminated the relationship.

Novig CEO Jacob Fortinsky told Fortune the company is "hugely supportive of women's sports." He attributed the campaign's creative direction partly to Sweeney herself: she was "driving a lot of the visuals," he said. Sweeney is an equity holder in the company. Fortinsky framed the campaign as focused on brand awareness and distinguishing Novig from competitors, not as commentary on female athletics. Novig did not apologize.

The difference is one word: violence

Both ads generated massive, furious, global outrage. The difference is what each ad depicted.

Good Good Golf showed a man physically assaulting a woman. The parody framing collapsed almost immediately: Clark was the first to dismantle it, in his own words, in public. There is no demographic for whom "he shoved her but it was a movie reference" survives past the first press cycle. Violence against women ends sponsorships. It ended Callaway's, Dick's, and Golf Channel's.

Novig showed a woman who holds equity in the company, had creative input on the campaign, and chose to be there. Those facts do not make the athletes' anger less real. They do make the PR calculus different. Fortune noted Sweeney's previous American Eagle controversy had reportedly driven "brand awareness and sales." Novig ran the same play with a larger audience.

Female golfers are not a footnote. The National Golf Foundation reported a 45% increase in female golfers from 2020 to 2025, with women now making up 28% of all golfers, the highest share on record. Good Good Golf's audience was part of that growth market. Callaway was cultivating it. The ad didn't just create a PR problem. It blew up the market the brand was trying to reach.

The question that kept getting buried

Lost in the noise each week: what does Novig actually do, and is it legal everywhere?

The Irish Times reported in late September that prediction markets like Novig operate with fewer regulatory guardrails than traditional sportsbooks by presenting themselves as financial exchanges rather than gambling platforms. France, Spain, and Germany have blocked access. Ireland required a gambling license. The insider trading risk is material: injury knowledge, advance political speeches, and non-public information can all be traded for profit with minimal oversight.

Callaway and Good Good Golf both issued formal apologies and donation pledges. Novig and Sweeney have not issued equivalent statements. As of publication, the campaign is live and the partnership is intact.

Good Good Golf has a PGA Tour event in Austin scheduled for November. The Novig ad is still running. The 2026 shock-advertising playbook is now fully public. What each brand does next is a choice.

Ad Watch News is an independent commentary site with no affiliation with Sydney Sweeney, Novig, Callaway, Good Good Golf, or any party named in this piece. This article draws on published sources listed below.

Sources & further reading

• CBS News: Good Good Golf's very bad, bad week amid backlash from Callaway video (2026)
• CBS News: Callaway Golf CEO apologizes after Good Good ad showing male golfer shoving woman sparks backlash (Aug 28, 2026)
• ABC News: Good Good Golf and Callaway Golf apologize after ad showing man pushing woman goes viral (2026)
• ESPN: Callaway ends Good Good relationship amid backlash from video (Aug 27, 2026)
• Fortune: Sydney Sweeney's Novig ad reveals a new fault line in sports marketing (Sept 16, 2026)
• The Irish Times: That Sydney Sweeney ad was a distraction from a worrying question: what does Novig do? (Sept 26, 2026)
• Wikimedia Commons: Sydney Sweeney at BFI London Film Festival, Oct 17, 2025. Photo: Raph_PH, CC BY 4.0