JD Sports has launched its 2026 main brand campaign across the UK and Ireland in partnership with Edison Media, marking the agency’s first full main brand brief for the retailer.
The three-phase campaign went live on 23 March and combines national reach with a series of high-impact activations in key cities including Manchester, Liverpool, London, Glasgow and locations across Ireland.
Built around the pillars of music, lifestyle and sport, the campaign is designed to reflect the interests and influence of JD’s core audience.
Emerging DJ Alexandria leads the music strand, while photographer, explorer and sneakerhead AT95 fronts the lifestyle element. The sport chapter will also spotlight The Night Club, a female-only run club timed to align with the Manchester and London marathons during the second phase of the campaign, alongside grassroots football club Winton Yanited.
JD Sports and Edison Media said the featured talent is intended to play a central role in shaping each phase of the creative, giving the campaign distinct cultural moments while maintaining a consistent overarching brand identity.
For Edison Media, the campaign represents a milestone in its relationship with the retailer. The independent agency has worked with JD Sports for more than three years across third-party brands, retail and partnerships, but this is its first time leading a main brand campaign for the business.
Nicola Orrell, managing director 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.”
The media strategy has been built around the habits of JD’s 16 to 24-year-old target audience, focusing on the spaces where they already spend their time.
In Manchester, the Trafford Centre, home to JD’s flagship store, sits at the heart of the campaign, with external landscapes, portrait formats, flags and digital placements designed to maximise visibility throughout the shopping journey.
In the south, Westfield Stratford anchors the retail element, supported by roadside formats and bus supersides connecting key routes. The campaign also extends into more culturally relevant everyday environments, including commuter corridors and chicken shops, in a bid to keep the brand visible beyond traditional retail moments.
The Irish campaign is running in parallel, using a similar high-footfall retail and roadside approach tailored to its own core cities and routes.
A new TV campaign will also support the launch, with placements on Netflix and Twitch rather than traditional linear broadcast channels. JD Sports said the move was designed to prioritise high-attention environments already favoured by its target audience.
Further creative phases are still to come across spring, with additional talent and new cultural moments set to feature in the next chapters of the campaign.
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