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Activist sportswear brand XX-XY Athletics saw a year-old ad explode in viewership. Super Bowl weekendresulting in triple sales compared to a normal weekend for the brand.
The “real girls rock” ad, which debuted in February 2025, was the brand’s second long-running ad and initially gained traction when it was shared on social media by “Harry Potter” author and women’s rights activist JK Rowling.
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XX-XY Athletics Instagram Ad (XX-XY Athletics on Instagram)
But then last weekend, founder Jennifer Sey and the company decided to recirculate the ad, and it went viral, pushing its total combined views on X to more than 40 million, and was among the top trending topics on X for Super Bowl Sunday.
Sey, a former Levi’s marketing executive and U.S. women’s champion gymnast, credited Sen. Ted CruzR-Texas, for being one of the figures who helped recirculate the ad during its viral resurgence.
“That was a big difference,” Sey told FOX Business of Cruz. “It made a huge difference … and we could see it differently, even in terms of traffic to our website.”
The ad itself portrays the brand ambassadors, who have championed women’s sports, facing vulgar hate comments and witnessing the liberal media slamming them as “transphobic.” It featured appearances from OuKick host Riley Gaines and former University of Nevada volleyball player Sia Lilly.
Sia Liilii appears in XX-XY Athletics “Real Girls Rock” ad. (Courtesy of XX-XY Athletics / FOXBusiness)
“It’s the proudest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Sey said. “I’ve done a lot of commercials in my life, I was the chief marketing officer of Levi’s for eight years, I’ve done Super Bowl commercials … but this one is definitely the one I’m most proud of. I think the message resonates very deeply and I think it really moves people to champion this cause.”
Despite the company’s rapid growth since launching in 2024, Sey said he aspires to never run any of his ads during the Super Bowl, insisting the prestige of landing that time slot has waned.
“I think Super Bowl commercials have prestige is a thing of the past,” Sey said. “I don’t think anybody cares anymore, I think people leave the room and get food, I don’t think people tune in to the commercials anymore. And from a business perspective, I don’t know how you generate a positive return when it costs $10 million just to secure the medium.”
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Sey was particularly critical of the quality of this year’s crop of Super Bowl ads.
“They were just relying on getting as many celebrities into the ad as they could,” Sey said. “That doesn’t really work.”
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