Why JD’s Christmas Stayed True to Its British Youth Culture Roots
The self-confessed ‘King of the Game’ JD Sports launched a campaign featuring 32 famous faces to kick off its Christmas festivities. The sportswear retailer enlisted everyone from YouTuber and musician KSI to footballer Thiago Silva, music artist R.A.E to the legendary musical artist and actor Kano – who features as the sound for the track. With P’s and Q’s in the background, the spot sees a teen dragged on a shopping adventure with a twist.
Starting with our protagonist climbing an escalator at a shopping mall, YouTuber and presenter Chunks directs him to a JD arcade, filled with faces you’re bound to recognise. As the audience is walked through the spot featuring dance machines, basketball hoops, an air hockey table and more, the vibrance of the spot speaks to a youthful demographic as JD aims to “create an authentic cultural institution for youth that aren’t represented or inspired by the mainstream, traditional portrayal of Christmas.”
Cake’s executive creative director Alex Groom, creative & strategy partner Lex Deasley, creative director/art director Alistair Dixon, Exposure’s head of experiential Emily Liddington and JD Sports’ global marketing director Nadia Kokni tell LBB’s Nisna Mahtani about the star-studded spot.
LBB> What was the client brief behind this star-studded spot and how did you interpret it?
Alex> The client brief is a real favourite of ours - ‘WIN CHRISTMAS’. Doesn’t get much more emphatic than that does it?
So we set out to try and beat last year’s effort, knowing that we had an approach that worked, fitting different talent into a storyline coherently. The big question was ‘what’s the arena we place them all in?’
LBB> We have to speak about the song choice being Kano’s ‘P’s and Q’s’. Did you always know it was going to be the soundtrack or did you go through different options?
Alex> We knew we wanted to sync a track (last year we created something original with Toddla T & Ms Banks) and that it had to be a banger. It was always going to be a UK rap/grime beat but it was Rollo who suggested ‘Ps & Qs’ and we didn’t need much persuasion obviously – 18 years on, it’s still an incredible track that had never been used on an ad. Then the icing on the cake was when we found out that Kano was confirmed to feature in the spot. The stars aligned.
Right from the outset, we discussed the film being really musical. At one point we were hoping to have a medley of three or four tracks – some old, some new - but ended up settling on Ps & Qs and Youngstar’s ‘Pulse X’, another classic grime track.
LBB> How did you decide on using the neon arcade aesthetic that features throughout and what are some of the lighting decisions you made during the process of filming?
Lex> Our strategic idea was built around the authentic competitive heritage of the JD brand and how this played out at a Christmas dominated by, arguably, the world’s biggest competition – the FIFA World Cup. We needed to find an authentic way to invite the audience to get involved which wasn’t a direct football play - the arcade was a natural choice.
Alistair> The arcade offers up an abundance of colour. We knew our audience didn’t want to see traditional festive colour palettes, it just doesn’t speak to them. Instead, we wanted them to be part of a space where their fit (outfit) would look best, and the neon aesthetic does just that. Both the TVC and the stills were shot using independent lighting rigs, but each realised Rollo’s vision to make talent outfits look the best they can without too much colour bleed. A balancing act between authenticity and what looks good for JD and the respective brands. We think we got that just right.
LBB> And can you tell us about the pop-up arcades which are part of the activation?
Emily> For the launch we kicked things off in West London, giving the TVC cast, content creators and media the chance to battle it out head-to-head. It felt like a natural fit to bring the JD Arcade to life. The TVC creative was a dream starting point to create an experience which we knew would immediately cut through with the JD guests. Arcades are the ultimate dopamine hit, they’re dynamic, nostalgia fuelled and most importantly, fun. We know that when our audience is truly enjoying an experience is when they are most engaged with the brand.
A real life ‘JD Arcade’ will also tour JD stores in Newcastle, London, West Midlands, Bristol, Manchester and Glasgow, featuring classic arcade gaming machines as well as the JD Christmas app game.
LBB> From a logistical standpoint, how long did it take to rally the cast together and create each part of the spot? Did you feature the cast in chronological order of filming or was it a process of finding the right amalgamation of shots?
Lex> Logistics on a shoot of this scale with so much talent and differing (and changing) availabilities is a massive job and our producers were the real heroes of the campaign.
Creatively, our mantra was adaptability and energy, and we’d created the script which allowed us to accommodate changes and jump on new opportunities as they sprung up. Some of our favourite scenes were late changes written on set a couple of hours before we shot them. Obviously, we were fully scripted and storyboarded but you can’t make this sort of film if you don’t embrace the chaos.
LBB> When it came to the post production process, what were you mindful of enhancing and what was the trickiest aspect of creating cohesion across the campaign?
Alex> A huge amount was done ‘in camera’, there isn’t much VFX because we always set out to create something that’s grounded in reality, and not enter hyper-reality.
We allowed ourselves a few moments, like the space scene and Bugzy Malone’s ice sculpture, but other than that the brief to ETC was about making the arcade space feel like the best arcade you’ve never been to – full of colour, vast in scale and different from corner to corner so that it never feels repetitive to look at. The sheer scale of that task alongside all the clean-up was probably the biggest challenge.
LBB> It’s safe to say that this isn’t a traditional ‘Christmas’ angle, barring the trees and decorations at the very start and end. Why did you go for this angle rather than a particularly festive route?
Alex> Our audience work at the start of the process pointed to the fact that a huge number of them aren’t that bothered by Christmas. They might be engaged for a bit but really, they want to be hanging out with their mates, doing their thing.
A traditional heart-warming family story just isn’t going to cut it for JD, it’s simply not where the audience is at.
On top of that, this is a global campaign running in 14 markets, spanning multiple versions of what Christmas looks like. Some of the audiences won’t celebrate Christmas at all due to their faith, so we must respect that and make work that’s recognisable to everyone. 99% of people probably recognise a version of an arcade environment.
LBB> What has the audience reaction been like so far?
Lex> This is an oversaturated and marketing-savvy audience, so our first concern is making sure that their time with us is well spent. Judging by their reaction, it seems that we’ve been pretty much on the money.
Among the G.O.A.T comments and fire emojis, the one we’re probably most proud of is, ‘F*** John Lewis, this is our Christmas ad’. It sums up exactly what we’ve tried to do over the last two years – create an authentic cultural institution for youth that aren’t represented or inspired by the mainstream, traditional portrayal of Christmas.
LBB> Are there any little details we might have missed and should go back to look out for?
Alex> There’s probably quite a lot, don’t know how long you’ve got?! The aspect ratio is interesting; it starts and ends (the shopping mall bits) anamorphic, 16:9, but the entirety of the arcade is shot 4:3. This was a super smart approach from Rollo [Jackson] to transition from reality to a kind of dream sequence. It also allowed us to see the carpet (a specially made JD one!) and ceiling of the arcade, making you feel really immersed in the space while helping us to show full outfits better without having to shoot wide.
Then throughout we’ve had fun with the aesthetic details in the arcade – on the KSI scene the track is revealed for a split second on the dance arena screen before you hear it drop.
Look closely at the top scorers on Central Cee’s pinball scene, they’re all other talents from the ad, plus a special guest…
The table football figurines were all 3D printed and are also head-to-toe in JD products. A massive technical job from the guys at ETC. And the table football that ends up popping out of Slow Thai’s mouth is a replica of the adidas FIFA World Cup 2022 ball (available at a JD store near you).
Right at the end, a little throwback to last year’s spot is that our JD kid has remembered the turkey this time, and probably my favourite bit of detail is the Christmas jingle version of Ps & Qs playing in the mall to finish.
LBB> There are so many recognisable faces, from Anthony Joshua to KSI, Central Cee to Virgil Van Dijk. Can you talk us through the process of getting everyone involved?
Nadia> The process of getting people involved in the Christmas campaign is an ongoing one as we work with brands and ambassadors throughout the year so the conversations tend to happen over time. The important thing is that the people we work with in this capacity have an authentic connection to JD and the JD consumer. It must be real. I like for us to work with people that feel a true connection with JD and our consumer/audience.
LBB> Did the target demographic for the campaign factor into the cast that you chose? Can you share a little about the strategy side of things?
Nadia> JD is a youth-centric brand and our principle goal is to be as close to our consumers as possible. We achieve this by trying to be as authentic, relevant and credible to that specific audience as we can. We’re positioned at the heart of where culture is for youth, our casting needs to reflect this. We look to cover the cultural pillars that are most relevant, finding the best mix of cultural protagonists that fit with the JD brand outlook. It’s always good to mix some well-known personalities with fresh new talent.
