JanSport bets on ‘weirdly relatable’ content for its TikTok-driven back-to-school campaign

With the campaign, Read said JansSport is looking to become “part of the cultural scroll” and not just interrupt the videos its target audience is watching.

“Gen Z lives in memes, sound bites and chaotic humor. Absurdity is part of how they express themselves, and that’s something we leaned into,” she said. “The humor is grounded in the brand truth that JanSport is always with you. So having a backpack say something about rotting on the couch feels weirdly relatable.”

This back-to-school season, perhaps more than any other, is being driven by online media trends and searches — and this can lead to big business for brands. Deloitte found in its back-to-school survey that 75% of Gen-Z parents and 46% of millennial parents plan to use social media in their shopping journey. “Retailers that can appeal to younger and tech-savvy shoppers stand to gain, as back-to-school shoppers who use social media in their shopping journey typically spend 1.8 times more than those who do not use social media,” Deloitte wrote.

While JanSport’s owner, VF Corporation, doesn’t share revenue or sales figures for the brand, the company said last year’s campaign drove the largest-ever sales month in over 50 years. Four weeks into this year’s campaign, JanSport is on track to surpass last year’s total impressions, reach and video views. On TikTok, the view-through rate from launch to date is 99%.

On YouTube, ad engagement is up 86% over last year, and view-through rate is up 110%. And those who saw the ads are 4.5 times more likely to search for “JanSport” on Google than those who didn’t, JanSport told Modern Retail.

But Read said the biggest KPI beyond sales is overall engagement. “We’ve seen comments like, ‘I’ve watched this five times,’ and that tells us we’re hitting the right notes and weaving into the humor that they’re looking for on a platform like TikTok,” Read said.

Brian Pham, head of strategy, creative, media and production for influencer marketing company Influencer, said being on social media is a key way for brands to stand out during the back-to-school season. This includes content that appeals to students themselves– like JanSport’s creative — but also content that speaks to parents who are ultimately buying the items.

“It’s a hyper-intent-driven strategy,” he said. “Students and their parents are very intentional when it comes to back-to-school. They usually have a list. They’re thinking, ‘If I need a laptop, what functions do I need? How do I evaluate which one is right for me?'”

From a content perspective, Pham said many brands are leaning into the practical to meet search terms like “must-haves for school” or “trendy backpacks.” But “culturally native” pieces can work, as well, Pham said, provided that the brand message still comes through. “For JanSport, we’re a reliable backpack with a logo, but there are only so many ways you can say that. So how do you hook people?” he said. “Once you hook them, then you can educate them on the product.”

This year, JanSport continued to work with the comedic ad agency Party Land to create “scroll-stopping content,” Read said. One of the most popular ads so far kicks off with a literal scream as someone sees a cockroach, with the best-selling pink bag embroidered with bows taking one for the team as it gets tossed across the wall. Brandon Panneton, global bond communications manager for JanSport, said ads that have an early and surprising “hook” cause people to rewatch to figure out what’s happening.

“As a team, one of our strategies was to make the viewer think, ‘What the heck am I watching?'” he said. “As people scroll, everyone’s fighting for attention, so if we can grab someone quickly with a scream or something unexpected, it might get them to watch multiple times. That repetition can plant a seed and ideally, they remember the brand.”