Teenagers aren’t interested in our bullshit
Two things at play in this campaign:
Dick’s Sporting Goods wanted to get into the 2021 back-to-school shopping conversation, and it had a good problem to solve: Dick’s has all the It brands - Nike, Adidas, Vans, The North Face, Patagonia, Birkenstock - but kids and their parents didn’t know. We needed a campaign that they’d pay attention to so that we could get included in their back to school shopping trips. So we let teenagers do it for us, giving a handful of teen influencers the keys - they gave feedback on concepts, ideas, music, and content creation - to shape the message and creative in a way that felt real and true to what they’re open to. The TV feels TikToky, the TikToks feel TikToky, and the ideas feel teenagery, including the Lock-In, a prom lock-in-inspired influencer content event.
When we started this project in February 2021 there was no way to predict what going back to school would look like in August and September. So we didn’t try to. What we did anticipate was that back-to-school would still be a cultural moment and reflexive point - it’s a time of change that offered kids something new, a chance to affirm their identity, and a bit of excitement (and dread, of course). This campaign reflects that sentiment.