Journeys is evolving its “Life on Loud” brand platform, which invites the next generation of shoppers into the retailer, for back-to-school.
The new campaign, dubbed “Turn It Up,” features “Outer Banks” star Madison Bailey, “XO, Kitty” star Anna Cathcart, sibling skateboarders Sky and Ocean Brown, American rapper Samara Cyn and Turkish singer INJI to help tell the story of the season.
Created alongside creative agency Anomaly, the new campaign is set inside a school “transformed by the unexpected,” Journeys said. Hallways, cafeterias and school buses become spaces for “creative disruption” as Bailey plays three versions of herself, Sky and Ocean Brown skate through the chaos, and ordinary school-day moments are “remixed into something louder, unexpected and more alive,” the company added.
Stacy Doren, chief marketing officer at Journeys, said in a statement that young people today are “constantly being told who they should be and what they should look like.”
“We want Journeys to be the place where they can tune out that noise, try something new and figure out what feels like them,” Doren noted. “‘Turn It Up’ is about giving the next generation the freedom to turn up the volume on who they are.”
The cast reflects that idea. Rather than center the campaign on a single spokesperson or one definition of what is “in,” Journeys brought together actors, musicians, creators and athletes whose careers and personal styles resist easy categorization.
Madison Bailey stars in Journeys’ back-to-school campaign.
Courtesy of Journeys
“What I love most about Journeys is that it celebrates self-expression without putting you in a box,” Bailey added. “We’re all constantly growing and evolving, and this campaign captures that so well. Playing three different characters was a lot of fun because it reflects the way I express myself through style and how I’m always experimenting with new looks.”
The campaign will come to life across CTV, digital, social, retail and experiential, supported by an expanded social content series that takes audiences behind the scenes with the cast, including Bailey’s three characters, Sky and Ocean Brown’s sibling dynamic, original skate content and more.
“Turn It Up” builds on the momentum for the “Life On Loud” brand platform, which launched in September, and marks Journeys’ biggest expression to date, advancing its position as the place that helps young people move from one version of themselves to the next.
Anna Cathcart stars in Journeys’ back-to-school campaign.
Courtesy of Journeys
This new campaign comes after Journeys’ parent company Genesco Inc. reported a better-than-expected start to the year in the first quarter of fiscal 2027. In May, the company said it saw net sales in Q1 increase 3 percent to $487.03 million compared to $473.97 million in the same year-ago period.
Genesco president and chief executive officer Mimi Vaughn told analysts on the company’s first quarter call in May that both athletic lifestyle and casual shoes achieved “healthy growth” in the period at Journeys, with increased demand for sandals, boots, low profile and lifestyle running.
The CEO said at the time that Journeys had seen increases in its female consumer base, which now accounts for “well over 50 percent of sales” at the teen retailer.
Samara Cyn stars in Journeys’ back-to-school campaign.
Courtesy of Journeys
