There’s something really refreshing about JCPenney’s latest campaign.

For its new fall fashion work, the US retailer has chosen not to use models. Instead, it has cast real teachers from across America and put them front and centre of the campaign.

And it’s a lovely idea.

Not because using “real people” in advertising is particularly new. Brands have been doing that for years. But because here, it feels completely natural.

These are teachers wearing clothes they could genuinely wear to work. They look good, but not overly styled. They feel confident, but not posed. And you can actually imagine meeting them at the school gates or seeing them standing at the front of a classroom.

It makes the fashion feel immediately more wearable.

Yes, JCPenney

The campaign sits within JCPenney’s wider “Yes, JCPenney” platform, which is based around a simple truth for the brand.

People know JCPenney. They know it offers value. But they might not necessarily expect someone wearing a great outfit to tell them it came from there.

Hence the response: Yes, JCPenney.

It’s a nice bit of self-awareness from the brand. Rather than pretending those perceptions don’t exist, it uses them.

And putting real teachers into the clothes makes that thought work even harder.

You’re not looking at a model and thinking, of course that looks good on them.

You’re looking at someone with a real job, getting dressed for a real day.

Suddenly it feels much easier to picture yourself wearing it too.

The Other September Issue

My favourite part of the campaign is probably The Other September Issue.

September has always been the big month in fashion publishing. The September issues are traditionally the biggest, glossiest and most fashion-heavy editions of the year, filled with designer clothes, models and celebrities.

JCPenney has borrowed that idea and created its own version.

Except its cover stars are teachers.

It’s such a simple switch, but it makes the point beautifully. You can still have great fashion and great styling, but the people wearing it don’t have to feel a million miles away from the people buying it.

And it gives the teachers their moment too.

We don’t need another influencer

What I like most about this campaign is that it doesn’t feel like JCPenney went looking for an “authenticity strategy”.

It feels like they looked at who actually shops with them.

Teachers make sense. They’re dressing for work every day. They need clothes that look good, feel good and don’t cost a fortune. And the timing, just after back-to-school, is spot on.

It also made me think about how often brands immediately reach for celebrities or influencers when they’re looking for someone to front a campaign.

Sometimes the more interesting people are already there.

Your customers.

Your staff.

The people who come into your stores every week.

The people who actually use what you sell.

And particularly in retail, there are thousands of those stories sitting right in front of us.

Real is more interesting.

There’s a lot of talk in our industry about brands needing to feel more human.

But perhaps we sometimes overcomplicate it.

Retail is already incredibly human. It happens in shops, on high streets and in communities. It’s full of people serving people, talking to people and buying things for other people.

So maybe we don’t always need to create a version of real life for advertising.

Sometimes we can just use the real thing.

That’s what I think JCPenney has got right here.

They’ve made the clothes look good. They’ve made the teachers look great. And they’ve made the brand feel a little more relevant in the process.