Hollister is eschewing traditional advertising in favor of a marketing strategy that speaks to the enduring role music plays in youth culture for what it describes as its largest summer campaign to date. The apparel maker collaborated with singer-songwriter Gigi Perez on a live recording and original music video for the first official cover of Green Day’s iconic “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” as part of the effort timed to graduation season, per details shared with sister publication Marketing Dive.
The Abercrombie & Fitch-owned brand, working with filmmaker Natalie Simmons, directed the “Time of Your Life” video, which cuts between Perez’s acoustic rendition of the song and a montage of high school moments: football games, marching band performances, homecoming dances, group hangs on skateboards and eventually leaving for college.
“Much of the marketing storytelling we do is around the reality of our customers’ milestones. We consider it an honor to be able to market to them during this coming-of-age era, when all these huge memories are formed,” said Joanna Ewing, senior vice president of creative at Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Green Day’s 1997 hit — with lyrics including “So take the photographs and still frames in your mind / Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time” — has endured as a favorite at proms and graduation ceremonies, and is well-suited for a sentimental time in teen lives. Enlisting 26-year-old Perez, a singer-songwriter who has gone viral on TikTok, to cover a nearly 30-year-old song by Green Day ties together Gen Z’s current fascinations with the demographic’s nostalgia for pop culture touchstones from the ‘90s.
“There’s such a fascination from Gen Z and the Hollister customer around the world that they didn’t get to participate in first-hand — be that products, analog elements, film, photography, point-and-shoot — all these little things that still carry weight,” Ewing said. “We hear and see from our customers that they’re pinning photos to their wall and hanging up wristbands from concerts, so we wanted to build into that.”
The campaign builds on previous efforts that have positioned music as part of the brand’s growth strategy while also piloting digital platforms and storytelling formats that are new to the brand. Hollister in 2024 launched Feel Good Fest, which included performances at high schools, by artists including Benson Boone, that were also streamed on the brand’s social channels. That activation grew into others on college campuses and on tours, including as official partner in 2025 for Lollapalooza Aftershows, where the brand first connected with Perez.
Tangible versus ephemeral
Perez served as a creative partner throughout the campaign’s creation, with her own doodles and actual Homecoming Queen sash appearing in the music video. The cast also features members of The Hollister Style Hub, the retailer’s creator collective that launched in 2024. Such collectives have allowed retailers, including Macy’s and Gap, to more seamlessly link culture and commerce.
The video also features a Memory Market, a photo booth that magically transforms memories into boxes of keepsakes. Hollister will bring a version of the experience to select locations on Saturday, where consumers can turn a photo into a memento, like a keychain.
“Gen Z loves a photo booth,” Ewing said. “The idea of the video started with the photo booth, the Memory Market… There’s a lot of play between the real and the tangible and ephemeral.”
The “Time of Your Life” campaign will run across web, social, email, retail and video streaming. Along with a mix of organic and paid social, the effort includes a takeover of music video platform Vevo and behind-the-scenes content on Snapchat.
As part of the campaign, Hollister will release a “Time of Your Life” product collection that features denim, apparel, shoes and accessories. Select pieces nod to senior year, with subtle “Class of,” “2026” and “Senior” details. While Hollister products appear in the content, the music video is not overtly branded.
“The goal of the video and the music was the freedom to connect through telling a story… Showing the product wasn’t the most important thing versus telling a story that connects and makes people feel seen,” Ewing said. “Then it’s our responsibility, from a commerce perspective, to make sure that the total journey has the curated product and the storytelling that we need in stores, online and in the paid media.”
Hollister brands delivered record full-year net sales with 15% growth in 2025, helping to spur a record year for its parent company. The brand’s growth and scale stand out in the teen space, executives noted on a call around the earnings.
