Brainrot Marketing: Can You Use “Chaotic” Content?

Scrolling through feeds and watching funny (and not-so-funny) videos has become a daily ritual across generations. If in the past it was mostly children and teenagers “glued to their phones,” today the older generation has joined in as well. As a result, brands have adapted and started producing fast-consumed, often meaningless content.

In 2024, the Oxford Dictionary named brainrot overconsumption of empty content the word of the year. This raised a broader question about the ethics of such a promotion method.

In this article, we’ll explore what brainrot is, show examples, and answer whether it’s worth including brainrot-style content in your marketing campaigns.

What Is Brainrot

Brainrot is the negative impact on a person’s cognitive functions and emotional state caused by consuming low-quality content.

Although this phenomenon has only recently taken over marketing communications, it has existed for a long time. Back in the 19th century, American philosopher Henry Thoreau, in his book Walden; or, Life in the Woods, referred to “brainrot” as a form of mental decay and described it as very dangerous.

Before the internet, the same criticism was aimed at TV advertising and shows: “TV makes us dumber.” The internet merely changed the platform, but the conversation remained the same.

In the digital era, memes were the first to be used in marketing and everyday online communication. Trollface, demotivators, photoshopped images, and viral video characters from the 2000s — that’s where brainrot began.

At the beginning, there was this:

But even then, there was some intellectual element unlike the canonical example of trash video, the online series Skibidi Toilet. Floating heads popping out of toilets became especially popular among children and teenagers.

Brainrot finally took root in social media marketing (SMM) and made its way into marketing campaigns during the pandemic. While lockdowns were in effect, people needed something to entertain themselves. Endless scrolling through feeds became a cure for boredom.

Should You Use Brainrot?

Today, it’s hard to imagine social media marketing without funny and not always intellectual videos. This type of content has both advantages and drawbacks.

Pros of Brainrot

Cons of Brainrot

Conclusion

Brainrot content can be used—but with caution and moderation. Here are some rules to follow:

• Choose simple, but not stupid, content. In some cases, cat videos and similar posts work well. Audiences willingly spend time on them, and such campaigns usually don’t cause irritation.
• Don’t jump on every social media trend. First, check whether a trend fits your brand’s values and communication style. If you adopt it, adapt it to your brand. Simple copying makes content faceless. It only makes sense to borrow while the idea is still fresh; once a trend is overused, it hardly works unless you deliver a truly original and strong execution.
• Opt for “conditionally useful” content formats. For example, ASMR videos, despite their strangeness, can have a calming effect. Explaining history with cat memes may also look like brainrot, but at least it’s beneficial and resonates with teens and children.
• Create collaborations. Partner with other brands or encourage user-generated content so people make what they themselves enjoy. Joint creativity and diverse perspectives will get you to a solid idea faster. But it’s important that the other brand’s audience aligns with yours.

Examples of Brainrot in Marketing

Brainrot makes its way into various communication channels: email campaigns, messengers, push notifications, and more. But it’s most common in short videos.

Businesses actively supplement their social media content marketing with such examples to increase brand awareness, engage audiences, and boost sales.

Here are some examples of brainrot marketing:

Italian Brainrot

These are AI-generated images where an animal or a person is merged with an inanimate object. Italians have nothing to do with it the trend began when users started giving their creations names in a faux-Italian style: Bombardiro Crocodilo, Ballerina Cappuccina, Tralalero Tralala, Bombombini Gusini, Chimpanzini Bananini.

These characters soon appeared in brand advertising. For example, Spanish KFC featured Ballerina Cappuccino in its commercials. The brand went even further and released a series of toys with brainrot characters for kids’ meals.

Content credits: hkfc.es

Other companies haven’t fallen behind either. Aviasales Kazakhstan created their own version of brainrot characters — not canonical, but funny nonetheless.

Why not make a dumbbell shaped like a cat? That’s what DDX Fitness thought and so they created their own brainrot.

Content credits: ddxfitness.ru

Ryanair

Almost all of the low-cost carrier’s content is built around brainrot: airplanes with eyes, jokes, and very little meaning. It’s the perfect kind of content to mindlessly scroll through online. A budget airline can afford to be funny since its audience doesn’t expect any sense of luxury from them.

Duolingo

After the jokes about the passive-aggressive owl, the brand started making such videos itself.

For example, the mascot chases a person, scares them, or even reenacts a scene from the series Squid Game. Top-level self-irony and an interesting example of brainrot.

Burger King

A bold brand with a young audience churns out brainrot like burgers. Its social media regularly features trend-driven posts from starstruck deer to chicken nuggets lounging by the pool. This format is instantly recognizable and appealing to teenagers and young audiences.

Tinder

The dating app’s account also runs on memes transforming existing ones and creating its own. For example, it adapted cat memes to fit relationship themes.

Fortnite

Popular memes, real-world objects, and characters are adapted to the game’s style. The videos don’t carry much meaning, but they do create a wow effect for the audience.

Wendy’s

Wendy’s social media leans into absurd humor, chaotic memes, and tongue-in-cheek irony. It’s a perfect example of brainrot content: short, offbeat, and endlessly shareable. These posts aren’t designed to be deep or polished — they’re designed to spark a reaction and keep audiences talking.

Skittles

The brand dabbles in brainrot too. It’s a good example of using the format in moderation—nothing shocking, and not so frequent that it overwhelms the feed. In small doses, this kind of content feels right at home.

Summary

Brainrot is content that feels like “brain decay”— it carries little to no meaning, yet it grabs attention, entertains, and makes people laugh. Memes and short videos are the main formats used to create it. On the plus side, brainrot makes it easier to connect with younger audiences, cut through banner blindness, and boost virality.

The downsides? Ethical concerns — this kind of content can waste time and even have a negative impact on people’s cognitive functions and emotional well-being. Constant copying also makes brands look alike, and for companies with a premium image, brainrot may be completely off-brand. It can be effective in moderation, but it needs to align with brand values and be used carefully to avoid harming reputation.