JD Sports Bets Against Nostalgia With a Future-Facing Christmas Ad
While Britain's biggest retailers fight over who can make you cry hardest this Christmas, JD Sports has released 'Create The New' — a star-studded, forward-looking film that refuses to trade on nostalgia at all.
What JD actually did
On 6 November, JD Sports launched its 2026 Christmas film, 'Create The New', made with its long-time agency Uncommon Creative Studio — the fourth festive campaign the pair have made together. The spot gathers more than 25 figures from music, sport and style, including footballers Ferran Torres and Lauren James and Argentine singer Emilia Mernes, set to a reworked 1990s dance track, 'Not Over Yet'. Managing director Paul Orange said the film celebrates a generation that is making its own opportunities and taking culture forward.
Why it stands out
Look at the rest of the 2026 Christmas slate and you see one word everywhere: memory. John Lewis mines a 'gran cave' of old keepsakes; brand after brand reaches for borrowed fame and a lump in the throat. JD does the opposite. 'Create The New' is explicitly about what happens next, not what happened before — a deliberate contrast that makes a crowded ad break easier to remember.
That is not an accident. JD's customer skews young, and for a teenager, nostalgia for the 1990s is someone else's memory, not theirs. By positioning itself as the brand that looks forward — an extension of its 'Forever Forward' platform — JD matches its message to how its audience actually sees the world. The one nuance worth naming: the retro soundtrack does quietly borrow from the past even as the script rejects it.
What businesses should do
You do not need JD's budget or its cast to use the lesson. In any season where every competitor is making the same emotional move, the cheapest way to stand out is to make the opposite one. Before you brief your own seasonal content, ask one question: what is everyone else in my market doing right now, and what is the credible opposite? Differentiation is a positioning decision, not a production budget.
The second lesson is fit. JD's forward-looking stance works because it is true to its audience and its history. A nostalgia play can be just as powerful for a brand whose customers are old enough to feel it. The error is copying the tactic that is winning for someone else without checking whether it fits you.
Quick FAQ
Who made JD Sports' 2026 Christmas ad?
It was created with Uncommon Creative Studio, the agency behind JD's recent festive campaigns, and launched on 6 November 2026.
What is the idea behind 'Create The New'?
Rather than nostalgia, the film celebrates young people pushing culture forward, extending JD's 'Forever Forward' brand positioning.
Every brand reaches for the same tissues in December. JD's smartest move isn't the celebrity cast — it's refusing to compete on nostalgia at all. When a market zigs, the brands people remember are the ones brave enough to zag. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
In a sea of sameness, the opposite move is the cheapest differentiation you can buy.
Is your seasonal campaign following the crowd, or deliberately breaking from it?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Campaign, Contentgrip, Clash Music, Shots, LBBOnline.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
