JD Sports took an unconventional approach to the usual back-to-school campaigns in Australia and New Zealand with a three-part, digital-first series featuring cameos from talented endorsers who starred in the sportswear retailer’s previous campaigns through 2022.
Created by Andpeople and PUSH, the seasonal, branded content marketing burst primarily promoted new school shoes, caps and backpacks and other school essentials, the campaign encourages viewers to shop the range online and in-store.
The star-studded, music and social media star fronted series is set during a typical high school teenager’s first day back at school.
The first episode of the campaign, titled ‘The Bells’, essentially acted as a follow-up ad to The North Face ‘It’s More Than a Jacket’ campaign. It dropped on 13 January and featured 15-year-old rapper LeBron Kundai Mapanda try to flex on his crush who is dancer Aaliyah Paea and also sees singer Billymaree makes a cameo as the music teacher.
Episode 2, ‘The Class’, rolled out a day later and featured TikTok comedian Olan Tekkers playinf a washed-up ex-soccer star- turned gym teacher in a follow-up to JD Sports’ ‘Champion Lives’ campaign in 2022. It also stars TikTok influencers karimdaddyslim and Fooligan Kevs who both provide additional bonus bespoke content native to their audience to further extend the campaign reach.
The final ‘The Principal’ spot was posted on 23 January and was built around the Western Sydney music scene and sees artist manager Lionel Nogueiro play a substitute teacher and also features Yuin & Thunghutti, with Triple J Blak Out Host Nooky playing the school principal.
“We’ve seen an appetite for more from our branded content, giving us the freedom to test new formats and approaches. With ‘Back to School’ we sought to go far beyond pure product messages and instead continue to build out a narrative approach that’s rich in storytelling, features local talent and has real cultural nuance,” explained Andpeople Creative Director Alexander Wu-Kim. “In doing so, I think we’ve successfully hit the right brand considerations, while giving the spotlight to people in the community that truly reflect the diversity and creativity of our audience.”
PUSH Director Jonathon Lim added: “Working with JD Sports and Andpeople on a project like this is a dream. They are some of the only agencies and brands that are truly tapped into youth culture in Australia today.”
The campaign was created for JD Sports Aus/NZ’s Head Of Marketing Michael Weatherston, Retail & Brand Marketing Manager Benjamin Kella, Retail Marketing Executive Kate Asamoah and Retail Marketing Coordinator Ellie Kaloutsis by an agency team at Andpeople led by Managing Director Andrew McDade, Creative Director Alexander Wu-Kim and Executive Producer Raeanne Chami.
The group at production outfit PUSH working on the project included Executive Producer Louella Campbell, Producer Alek McKenzie, Director Jonathon Lim, 1st AD Matt Enfield, DOP Tom Black, 1st AC Gary Morris, 2nd AC Ivona Alavanja, Gaffer Nik Damianakis, Best Boy Blake Hull-Moody, Sound Recordist Luke Fuller, GRIP Joe Bruneteau, 2nd AD Raeanne Chami, 3rd AD Jacinthe Lau, Art Assistant/Designer Travis Leslie, Producer Simone Starikov, Production Assistant Ibrahim Intwari, Stylist Marisa Suen, Art Department Michael Restifo and Tara Sriharan, plus Hair Stylist Laura Mazikana and Makeup Artists Tina Matti and Luisa Zampogna.
Comment
This offers a fairly different creative approach to engaging a similar demographic target as JD’s recent UK ‘King Of The Game’ Christmas campaign.
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