JD Sports has left behind its history of Christmas stories with teens “suffering” their parents. The pay-off for teens – hanging out with friends and being part of teen culture remains, but this year’s Christmas film is an emotive documentary by Uncommon Creative Studio that uses JD Sports’ duffle bag to celebrate youth culture. The campaign celebrates 25 years since JD’s famous duffle bag first launched and its establishment as a symbol of British youth culture.
The campaign, Forever Forward, still uses well known influencers, but this year in a celebration of “creativity, resilience, and passion, aimed to empower and inspire the next generation.”
The hero film, The Bag for Life, was directed by Amara Abbas at Iconoclast is set to the timeless classic, Sweet Harmony, by Liquid, and rooted in authentic, relatable, real-life scenarios of JD consumers. The full cast the film includes influnecers, Ants Live, Cat Burns, Central Cee, Chunkz, Darkest Man, Davido, Ella Toone, Joy Crookes, Kano, Mar Lucas, Nia Archives, Omar Montes, Ronisia and Sturdy Off.
The accompanying outdoor campaign began by teasing mysterious shots of unknown models wearing the iconic JD duffle bag from behind. When the campaign went live, all media switched simultaneously to reveal the identity of the models: celebrity talent — also icons of youth culture today.
The full campaign is running across VOD, JOOH, DOOH, Murals, Social and Online in the UK, Australia, Canada, South East Asia and Europe.
Benny Everitt, executive creative director at Uncommon Creative Studio, stated, “The JD duffle bag has been a central part in British youth culture across the years. We wanted to create a campaign that celebrated its relevance today now more than ever — using the bag itself as a connection point between the brand and its audience. Using authentic moments, talent and tactical outdoor to bring this message to bear over the festive season.”
Chris Waters, EU marketing director at JD Sports, added, “JD has always been the force behind propelling youth culture forwards, and we want to commend the unique place that the brand is fortunate enough to occupy. As the number one retailer for sports fashion and lifestyle, we’re excited to unveil ‘Forever Forward’, whilst celebrating the 25th anniversary of the JD duffle being a visible icon for our audience. This year’s cast are all young individuals with their own innate power to shape the world around them, and JD takes pride in spotlighting this amazing talent to encourage the next generation to continually move Forever Forward.”
Credits
Creative Studio: Uncommon Creative Studio
Client: JD Sports
Global Managing Director: Mike Armstrong
Marketing Director UK & EU: Chris Waters
Director of Social and Third Party Brands: Neil Corrie
Director of Multichannel Content: Ben Ingoldby
Head of Marketing Operations: Stephanie McClelland
Senior Marketing Manager: Louisa Craggs
Senior Creative Lead: Connor McManus
Campaign Manager: Rachel Coope
Head of Projects: Cristiano Molha
Head of Design & Artwork: Adam Bond
Producer: Liv Johnson
Head of Photography: Martyn Leather
PR Manager: Abbie Mattingley
Production Company: Iconoclast
Managing Directors & Executive Producers: Jean Mougin & Guy Rolfe
Executive Producer: Romain Gavras
Executive Producer & Head of Production: Kate Sharpe
Director: Amara Abbas
Producer: Luke Plaister
Service Producer for SugarFree: Michelle O’Brien
Production Manager: Marian Mikhail
DoP: Nicolas Loir
Production Designer: Bon Walsh
1st AD: Jim Cole
Editing: Trim
Editor: Tom Lindsay
Producer: Polly Kemp
Post Production: Electric Theatre Collective
VFX Lead: Hani Al Yousif
Colourist: Jason Wallis
Producer: Oscar Wendt
Sound Studio: Factory
Creative Director of Audio: Anthony Moore
Sound Design & Mix: Michael Haines
Audio Production: Ciara Wakley
Music Supervision: Mr Pape
Music Supervisor: Paul Brown
