We all know Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, White Lotus, and Handmaid’s Tale star)…but lately, you might know her for something else:

Her ads.

Maybe, her Novig ad graced your TikTok feed or you saw one of the many female athletes come forward to share their take on ‘what a woman in sports looks like.’

Maybe you’re like me and had absolutely NO clue what anyone was talking about until you binged a few videos and *eventually* caught the sports betting ad itself.

And listen – I’m actually not interested in deciding whether Sydney Sweeney is a feminist icon, setting women back 50 years, brilliantly exploiting the male gaze, or simply taking very lucrative brand deals.

I’m interested in something else entirely:

Sydney Sweeney is a fascinating example of what happens when a very visible personal brand has plenty of attention…

but no clear North Star telling us what all that attention is for.

Because right now, I can identify a recurring theme in her brand.

Sexuality? Absolutely. Provocation? Often. Conversation? Constantly.

But a through-line?

That’s where I get lost.

And when your audience doesn’t know what connects the dots of your brand, they start connecting them for you.

We all know sex sells and so does controversy.  But when using both as a marketing campaign tactics (deeply tied to your personal brand)… what are you gaining? And at what loss? 

Let’s talk about how all of this is impacting her legacy, what’s at play for her personal brand, and how I’d suggest she pivot (before it’s too late) to salvage her personal brand. 

Let’s get into it.

Sydney Sweeney: The Actress Turned Advertising Phenomenon (?)

Before we get into the ads, this distinction matters:

Sydney Sweeney did not become famous because she was an influencer who happened to be hot.

She became famous because she is a talented actress.

She built a legitimate body of work through roles in The Handmaid’s Tale, Euphoria, and The White Lotus, among others.

And then, alongside the acting career, something else started taking shape.

Sydney Sweeney became a very bankable sex symbol.

Brands noticed. And Sydney, seemingly, did too.

We first saw this in her ‘Dr. Squatch’ campaign.

What was it? A select drop of soap with her distilled bath water (yes, real and used bath water) added into the mix. I believe it was a small batch of 5,000 bars. All sold at $8 each.

And, it sold out almost immediately. 

Sure – it was a weird campaign and a strange product – but, we all shrugged it off.

Then, she does it again. 

Another campaign with sexual innuendoes embedded in its core ad and imagery. 

Up close, slow shots of Sydney’s figure – but, it doesn’t stop there.

The core message: “Sydney Sweeney has great genes/jeans” – the word play is undeniable. 

But, as a blonde and blue eyed gal opening a commercial with the lines of a monologue “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue.” 

The internet erupted with commentary. Specifically to how it was eugenic in nature.

But regardless of which interpretation you had, something was becoming increasingly clear:

Sydney Sweeney + controversy could generate an enormous amount of attention.

But, this was now TWO Sydney Sweeney ads that left us noodling on a few things:

1️⃣ How aware she was of their intentions

2️⃣ What her goal was with the campaign collaboration

And

3️⃣ If she was ‘in on the bit’ so to say – when it came to profiting off being sexualized

Then, the Novig ad enters the chat.

I kid you none when I say the entirety of the piece is basically her saying “just sports” in a loop. While completely nude and covering herself with sports equipment. The world -once again– erupted in commentary. 

Famous athletes and olympic gold medalists spoke out against this ad and the damage it does for all women in sports. How they have fought long and hard against sexism in sports. Only to have sexism rapidly circulating with this ad. I hear them loud and clear.

Everyone was debating:

Is this objectification?

Is it empowerment?

Is she in on the joke?

Is she exploiting the male gaze?

Is the male gaze exploiting her?

And I kept thinking:

I don’t actually think any of those questions are the most interesting one.

The most interesting question is:

What does Sydney want all of this to mean?

Does she know what she is doing, how much is intentional, and what IS her strategy here?

What I learned upon digging into all of this:

Sweeney approached the company about collaborating because she was attracted to its exclusive focus on sports-event contracts and wanted to become a shareholder. Hence, its’ “Just Sports” ad title. [Want to see what I’m talking about, click here]

So this wasn’t necessarily just:

✅ Hot actress gets paid to be hot in advertisement.

There’s business happening here, too.

But as the audience? We aren’t really let in on that.

We know the actress, sex symbol, and her choice in provocative campaigns.

She utilizing the age old ‘conversation as currency’ and weaponizing the male gaze…but we don’t have a strong understanding of the idea connecting all of it.

That leaves everyone except for Sydney out of the loop on what her mission is and what she truly wants to be known for. Because right now, I have no clue. And likely, you don’t either.

And without a North Star, people will create one for you.

Is Sydney Hoping to be “The Modern Marilyn”?

I’m completely making this up. Sydney has not told me this is her strategy. But imagine she came out tomorrow and essentially said:

“I know exactly what happens when I walk into a room. I know people are going to look. So I’m going to make looking useful.”

Now we have something.

Imagine her North Star was becoming a sort of Modern Marilyn – the glamorous movie star and sex symbol who is completely aware of the gaze, completely willing to use it…

AND determined to turn that attention into something bigger than herself.

Suddenly, the same ingredients create a very different brand.

She can be the movie star, take the sexy campaign, make the ad everyone talks about, and make millions from the attention.

But then there’s a second act.

“I knew you’d look. Now look at this:”

Maybe the attention from the sports campaign turns into a major investment in women’s sports.

Maybe the enormous payday funds access or opportunities for female athletes.

Maybe campaigns connect directly to causes she’s publicly decided to champion.

Maybe she talks openly about the economics of being sexualized as a young actress and how she’s chosen to take ownership of that.

Maybe she becomes just as known for what she does with the attention as she is for getting it.

That’s a brand universe.

Because there is an organizing idea underneath all of it.

That is what a North Star does.

It doesn’t mean everyone agrees with you. It means people understand you.

Without A North Star, Your Audience Has To Write The Story

And THIS is the part I care about for your business.

Because no, you probably aren’t currently deciding whether to pose nude in a sports-betting campaign.

But the branding problem is far more familiar than you think.

You know you’re supposed to build a personal brand.

So you share the business tip, pictures from vacation, your hot takes, your launch BTS clips, stories about your childhood, and then the carousel about your framework.

And individually?

None of it is necessarily wrong.

The problem is that you don’t know what connects it.

Which means your audience definitely doesn’t.

They might know you’re smart, that they like you, and they might even consume your content all the time.

But ask them:

“What does she really stand for?”

“Why does she teach this the way she does?”

“What makes her different from the other 37 people I follow who solve this problem?”

“Why would I specifically want HER brain?”

And things get fuzzier and that fuzziness costs you.

Because the goal of a personal brand isn’t simply to show people more of your personality.

It’s to give people a lens through which everything you do makes more sense.

All of the things that make you uniquely you and qualified to help your leads inside your offers – from content, stories, opinions, weird personality things, values, expertise, etc ~ it should all compound.

That’s What I Call Your ISM

Your ISM is your brand position. It’s the idea underneath your personal brand that gives everything else somewhere to belong.

It helps you decide what stories are worth telling. Which opinions are worth sharing. Which opportunities actually make sense. What pieces of your personality belong in the brand. What you want to become known for beyond the literal service you sell.

And – importantly – it helps your audience understand why all of those things belong together.

Because attention without meaning is just attention.

Personality without positioning is just information about you.

And visibility without a North Star leaves your audience doing way too much interpretive work.

Sydney Sweeney has more attention than almost any of us could dream of having.

And that’s exactly why she’s such an interesting case study.

***More attention doesn’t solve an unclear brand.***

It amplifies it.

How Can We Apply This Inside Our Businesses?

If YOU want to be unshakeably known for what you do in your online business (and well), I’d love to work on your personal brand together live October 5-9th. 

We’re getting precise on your approach, your values, your personality, and what actually makes you different from everyone else in the online space. Then we’ll position your throughline, package it so your ICAs know who you help and how; and then tie it all together so you can implement it everywhere your brand lives seamlessly.

You want to be in this room!