JD Sports gives Uncommon Creative Studio its fourth consecutive Christmas campaign, with this year's film directed by the Reid Brothers.
Uncommon has put a different director on the film every year since it took over the account in 2023.
The campaign, titled "Create The New," features more than 25 names from sport, music, fashion, and film.
Ferran Torres, Lauren James, Sammy Virji, and Josh Baker are among the featured talent.
The production marks another change in how the agency approaches JD's seasonal brief.
Its 2025 campaign, "Where Are You Going?," handed creative control to 286 young people worldwide.
The contributors shot everything on their phones with no sets or lighting crews.
Uncommon gave the director credit for this ad to 27-year-old filmmaker Francis Plummer.
This year's film keeps the loose, unscripted feel of a creative session under an established director duo.
Directed by Will and Ed Reid, the new spot follows young creatives collaborating in spaces connected to their work.
One sequence sees Sammy Virji, Josh Baker, Skye Newman, and Chris Stassy creating a track in a makeshift kitchen studio.
Other scenes pair Ferran Torres with designer Antonia Bronze and Argentine singer Emilia Mernes with Italian rapper Ele A.
The soundtrack features "Not Over Yet," performed by Grace and Paul Oakenfold.
The campaign also launched with a sold-out pop-up rave in Amsterdam on Nov. 5.
Its rollout began Nov. 6 across TV, digital, social, out-of-home, and stores in the U.K. and JD's European markets.
Uncommon Executive Creative Director Josh Tenser said that the film answers the way Christmas advertising usually talks to young people.
"Every December, brands tell young people to slow down. JD doesn't," Tenser said in a press release.
"The next generation is too often written off, so we let what they make answer back. We stripped out the polish and filmed them in the mess of making.
Every idea in the film comes from how young people actually create: fearlessly, instinctively and without waiting for permission."
Uncommon has now held the account for four Christmas campaigns, each with a different director and production model.
This consistency gives the creative agency a useful case study in keeping a major client relationship fresh.
Uncommon's Ever-Changing Production Formula
The latest campaign's production model becomes more interesting when compared with the agency's previous work for JD.
In 2023, Uncommon introduced the "Forever Forward" platform with "The Bag for Life."
Directed by Amara Abbas of Iconoclast, the film celebrated 25 years of JD's signature duffel bag and its place in youth culture.
It used a documentary-style film featuring names including Central Cee, Kano, Nia Archives, and Joy Crookes.
Uncommon followed with "The Family Portrait" in 2024, a 90-second film featuring Central Cee, Love Island host Maya Jama, and MMA fighter Paddy Pimblett.
Set to Jamie xx's "Wanna," the spot explored different expressions of family and Christmas traditions through slice-of-life scenes and childhood photos.
Saman Aminzadeh and Elliott Power directed the film through production company Love Song.
In 2025, Uncommon took a different approach with "Where Are You Going?"
The agency handed the camera to over 280 young people, who filmed their own lives and surroundings.
The resulting campaign used vertical mobile footage and removed traditional production infrastructure.
This year, Uncommon handed the camera back to a commercial directing duo.
The Reid Brothers stage collaborative sessions that preserve the spontaneity associated with the previous campaign.
The choice of directors also connects to a growing relationship with production company Anonymous Content.
Will and Ed Reid joined the company in June 2024 for commercial, branded entertainment, and music video representation in the U.K. and Amsterdam.
The duo later expanded their representation to the U.S.
Their documentary-influenced filmmaking suits a campaign that wants to capture creative work as it happens.
The client-agency relationship also has an interesting corporate history.
JD Sports' 2022 Christmas campaign was handled by Cake, part of Havas, before Uncommon took over the following year.
Havas acquired a 51% stake in Uncommon in July 2023, with the agency's founders retaining 49%.
JD's Christmas work moved between two Havas-owned shops in a single year.
Holding groups that own several shops can keep a brand's creative budget in the family when an account changes hands.
The 65% Who Say Young People Drive Culture
JD's latest financial results and independent consumer research offer context for Uncommon's creative strategy.
The brand generated £12.66 billion (roughly $17.2 billion) in FY26 revenue, up 10.5% year over year.
The U.K., where Uncommon shot this year's film, posted JD's weakest result, with like-for-like sales down 3.9%.
A GWI study cited in Mastercard's February 2026 youth report found that 65% of global consumers say young people drive culture today.
The same report puts Gen Z at about 26% of the global population, with an estimated $33 trillion in earning potential by 2030.
These figures give JD Sports a substantial commercial reason to keep younger consumers involved in its brand storytelling.
Agencies managing long-term retail accounts can apply three lessons from JD's youth marketing strategy:
Connect Cultural Relevance to Commercial Priorities
Agencies should connect creative decisions to the audience segments that matter to a client's growth strategy.
JD generated £7.95 billion in revenue through its JD fascia in FY26, out of £12.66 billion in group revenue, giving its core brand a substantial commercial role.
Give Younger Audiences a Role in Creation
Brands should involve young creators in campaign development to reflect the communities influencing their categories.
Creator-led channels now earn more ad revenue than legacy broadcasters, according to WPP Media data cited in Mastercard's report.
Refresh Execution Without Losing Brand Recognition
Agencies should retain recognizable assets while changing the creative formats used to keep audiences interested.
JD operates more than 4,800 stores across 51 countries, giving its campaigns a substantial international audience and a need for consistent brand recognition across markets.
JD's continued investment in youth culture gives Uncommon a consistent strategic foundation for creative experimentation.
Our Take: Can Creative Resets Protect Long-Term Accounts?
Retail clients tend to renew agencies on sales, so every creative reset buys an agency another year to prove that its work moves product.
Uncommon's JD Sports work also runs outside Christmas, including the Youth Club Dictionary for the retailer's £1 million partnership with BBC Children in Need.
We'll credit Uncommon's year-round work and yearly director swaps for four years with JD Sports, though the brand's numbers will decide the next renewal.
John Lewis ran 14 years of Christmas hits with adam&eveDDB and still put the account up for pitch in 2023 after a loss-making year.
Agencies holding big seasonal accounts should pair every new format with a sales story that the client's CFO can repeat.
Meanwhile, other brands are answering the same holiday brief with their own creative teams.
SharkNinja made its 2026 holiday campaign in-house, with its Creative Labs team writing the work and David Beckham's Studio 99 producing it.
Agencies like Uncommon now compete with in-house studios as well as rival shops when a holiday account comes up for renewal.
Brands looking for long-term creative partners can explore top creative agencies on DesignRush.
Compare portfolios, client reviews, and expertise to find an agency that can keep your brand's creative direction fresh.
