• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, August 5, 2016

If retailers think it’s tough to get parents’ attention for back-to-school advertising, figuring out what kids want to watch can be even harder. Foot Locker is hoping the current mania for face-swapping apps will work. JCPenney is channeling the brassy spunk of pop star Meghan Trainor. And 3M is tapping into some Horatio Alger lessons for kids facing big obstacles.

To promote its Nike back-to-school gear, Foot Locker's new spot puts a young fan together with Cleveland Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving, who graciously offers to take a face-swapping selfie with him. But something goes wrong, and the boy finds himself blessed instead with Irving’s body. The lucky boy “accidentally” drops the NBA’s star’s phone. “Whoops,” he says. “Thanks for the body. Have a nice life.” Created by BBDO, the ad is part of the chain’s #GoBig campaign.

JCPenney just rolled out a new video to go along with its “So You. So Worth It.” campaign, featuring hilarious middle-schoolers (and a talented bus driver) grooving to Meghan Trainor’s Me Too. (The song is also featured in its back-to-school TV ads.)

And 3M is hoping to touch kids with old-school inspiration, in ads featuring a not-very-tall girl using Post-It notes to up her game. The ads, from Grey Advertising, tell viewers that people who write down their goals are 42% more likely to get it done, and the company says it was developed after research on Generation Z revealed that despite their all-digital reputation, these kids actually like to write thing down sometimes. Ads are tagged “Stick, re-stick, and make it stick.” 

It’s a follow-up to the brand’s effort to show how writing helps kids accomplish things, and includes a longer video of a teen overcoming anxiety through poetry, and how she uses Post-Its to sharpen her writing.