"Where Are You Going?"

10 November 2025

90s

Screenage dreams.

For J D Sports, two hundred and eighty-six is the magic number. That's how many smartphones it gave to young people between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five to help make its Christmas ad. It's a lot of material for director Francis Plummer to sift through, but the result is a worthy follow-up to last year's 'Family Portrait'.

All the brand wants for Christmas is to "see the future", to look at the world as its target market sees it. As the montage kicks into gear, we hear an older woman say "they're just lost in their own world", but what we see could not be further from the truth. No one's lost or disconnected—they're more switched on than people give them credit for. There's uncertainty, sure, but also joy, energy, and togetherness.

Elsewhere, cameos from the likes of JADE, Cole Palmer, Skye Newman, and Paddy Pimblett manage not to pull focus from the street cast or the brands that speak to them. The ad’s also careful not to drown the idea in festive spirit—flashes of tinsel and baubles are more than enough as the brand nurtures an attitude that's not just for Christmas.

UK

Sportswear