- Great Clips named magician-creator Justin Flom the face of its 2026 back-to-school campaign, starring alongside his two daughters in a video that swaps magic tricks for the Great Clips app.
- The campaign also features a roster of family creators across the U.S. and Canada, part of Great Clips' ongoing push to lean on relatable, everyday-life content instead of polished ads.
- Starting July 20, the Great Clips app adds a Live Updates feature, pushing real-time check-in status and wait times straight to iPhone and Android lock screens.
- The app has now passed 27 million downloads, as Great Clips leans further into creator-led marketing to cut through a crowded back-to-school season.
Great Clips, the world’s largest salon brand, has tapped Las Vegas-based magician and social creator Justin Flom to headline its 2026 back-to-school campaign, announced July 14. The push centers on showing parents how the Great Clips app can turn one more back-to-school errand into an easy win.
In the campaign’s centerpiece video, Flom, known for the elaborate optical illusions and physical gags built into his Las Vegas “Fun House,” appears with his two daughters to make the case that skipping the haircut wait doesn’t take a magic trick, just Online Check-In, which lets parents check in multiple family members at once, view real-time wait times, and get notified when it’s their turn.
“Our goal is to help families spend less time waiting and more time doing what matters during one of the busiest seasons of the year,” said Traci Elder, Great Clips’ VP of Marketing and Communications, in the campaign announcement.
Flom joins a rotating cast of family creators fronting the campaign across the U.S. and Canada. It’s the kind of creator-led play that’s become standard across back-to-school marketing this year: Aéropostale recently turned to TikTok star and real-life Aéropostale intern Déjà Clark for its “Intern Diaries” series, while Gillette leaned on Spanish creator DJMaRiiO to launch GilletteLabs Body overseas.
Great Clips also confirmed a new Live Updates feature launching July 20, pushing real-time check-in status and estimated wait times directly to lock screens on iOS and Android. The app has now surpassed 27 million downloads.
This marks Flom’s first known partnership with Great Clips, and his first major campaign in the hair-care space, adding to a commercial resume that has previously included Coca-Cola, American Airlines, and Kellogg’s.
Takeaways
Great Clips is betting on relatability over celebrity wattage. Flom isn’t a traditional spokesperson; he’s a creator whose whole audience already trusts him doing “everyday magic,” which maps neatly onto an app pitched as the real trick behind a stress-free haircut.
This is Great Clips’ third straight year opening back-to-school season with a well-known face, after Joey Fatone fronted the 2024 push and TikTok’s “Costco Guys” duo A.J. and Big Justice led 2025’s campaign, suggesting the brand sees star power as a proven way to cut through a crowded season.
For Flom, it’s a rare mainstream retail deal outside his usual late-night and awards-show circuit, and a sign that family-friendly creators are increasingly landing campaigns once reserved for actors or athletes.
Does swapping in family creators over athletes and pop stars actually move app downloads, or is it mostly a play for social reach? Will Great Clips stick with a brand-new face every back-to-school season, or could Flom return for a multi-year run?
