Edison Media has taken JD Sports back to market for 2026 with a three-phase brand campaign running across the UK and Ireland from this month (March).
The campaign combines national coverage with high impact activations in key audience cities including Manchester, Liverpool, London, Glasgow and across Ireland. It is built around three talent pillars covering music, lifestyle and sport, chosen because they reflect the culture JD’s core audience lives and shapes every day.
Leading the music strand is emerging DJ Alexandria. Lifestyle is fronted by AT95, a photographer, explorer and sneakerhead. The running chapter is anchored by The Night Club, a female-only run club timed to coincide with the Manchester and London marathons in the second phase. Grassroots football club Winton Yanited rounds out the roster.
These aren’t token endorsements; they’re the creative engine for each flight, giving the campaign a distinct identity at every turn without losing the thread.
The launch marks a significant moment for Edison Media. Having worked with JD Sports for over three years across third-party brands, retail and partnerships, this spring represents the agency’s first full main brand campaign for the retailer. For an independent agency, it’s a meaningful step and proof that the model works.
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Nicola Orrell, MD at Edison Media, said “We’ve spent three years building a deep understanding of JD’s business, their audience and what makes this brand connect. Getting the opportunity to bring that into the main brand campaign feels like a natural progression. We’re genuinely aligned with what this campaign is trying to do, and we’re proud to be leading it.”
On the ground, the media plan puts JD exactly where its 16-to-24-year-old audience already spends time. In Manchester, the Trafford Centre – home to JD’s flagship store – gets the full works. External landscapes, portrait formats, flags, and digital placements combine to hold attention throughout the shopping journey, ensuring the brand is impossible to miss from the car park to the checkout.
Westfield Stratford anchors the retail approach in the south, with high-impact roadside and bus supersides connecting the routes between them. Culturally relevant environments including chicken shops and commuter corridors sit alongside the bigger formats to keep the brand present across the everyday, not just the occasion.
Ireland runs in parallel, using the same high-footfall retail and roadside logic shaped to its own key cities and routes.
A new TV campaign supports the launch, extending the platform’s reach well beyond physical placements. Rather than defaulting to traditional broadcast, the TVC has been placed directly on Netflix and Twitch – two platforms where JD’s core audience already chooses to spend their time. It’s a deliberate move, prioritising high dwell time environments where attention is earned rather than stumbled upon.
With flights two and three still to come, the campaign has plenty left to say, promising new talent, new cultural moments and new creative chapters across spring.
