Foot Locker

Back to school: empowering Gen Z during COVID-19

Company

Analog Folk

brief

amplify

in-store

Role

Area

Senior creative
Senior copywriter

Campaign
Retail
Digital
Social

Scope

Create a 360, back to school campaign that further builds out the Shoes Don’t Change The World, You Do platform

Inspire and empower Gen Z with a back to school campaign at this pivotal time of year.

Two boys are chasing a basketball on a basketball court

insight

COVID-19 caused anxiety for many kids, especially during the back to school period

Whether it was virtually or in real life, returning to school during the pandemic was a difficult period for Gen Z.

To encourage and inspire them to be themselves, we featured the voices of two UK, Gen Z talents who never really felt like they fit in. They share their stories of how they are inspired to be themselves, and how they inspire others to do the same. Model and presenter Jordan is using his voice to celebrate albinism. Abisha, a queer musician and singer-songwriter, is inspires her audience to embrace their differences through her music.

Their stories are captured in a hero video, 30s videos for both Abisha and Jordan and a static shoot. Separate product gifs were created to highlight individual hero products.

A teenager in a black tracksuit lifts his right leg as if he's about to jump on the wall he's standing on
A girl with long braids wearing an adidas tracksuit stands in front of a green and black door.
A girl with long braids and a grey Nike track suit stands on a London rooftop
A teenage boy hangs from a basketball hoop with one hand

A partnership with TONL to increase visibility

A campaign shot by Gen Z talent Marvin Bonheur

A boy with blue hair in a track suit jumps over a concrete wall
A girl strikes a pose on a skating ramp that's coveredin graffiti. She has long braids and wears head-to-toe adidas
A teenage boy sits on top of a pile of cans in a local supermarket aisle

To reinforce the celebration of uniqueness, we partnered with TONL — an organisation that aims to make photography more diverse — to create a special stock photo collection. The collection featured a mix of custom-made images of Jordan and his personal story of how he fights for representation.

The in-store imagery was shot by Gen Z photographer Marvin Bonheur. He chose the infamous 93, a department right outside of Paris, as the backdrop for this shoot. This neighborhood is known for its cultural diversity but also struggles with a bad reputation due to high rates of theft, drugs and trafficking. Marvin, who grew up in the 93rd, chose this location to highlight the resilience and creativity of its people, who, regardless of the adversity they face, still continue to make the most of life.

A teenage boy in a grey tracksuit stands in front of a concrete pingpong table with a girl, in a black adidas tracksuit, on top of the table
A group of teenagers stand around a concrete pingpong table