Should Your Brand Post Brainrot Content?

Picture this: you're distracted, scrolling through TikTok, when you see a familiar face: a sponge with a smile. No, we’re not talking about SpongeBob, we’re talking about Scrub Daddy. Your first thought: “What is going on in this video?” Your second thought: “Why am I still watching this?” Because somehow, a cleaning product featured on Sharktank over 10 years ago has accumulated an incredibly large following online.

How did a kitchen sponge company go from an inert household item to a social media powerhouse? The answer: brainrot content.

That’s right, a literal sponge — used to clean your dishes, sink, and whatever else needs a good scrubbing — is not only popular with homeowners who need a quality tool, but also with a young audience who love to watch the ridiculous content the brand puts online. Scrub Daddy became one of Gen Z’s favorite brands to follow by leaning into humor, sarcasm, and a little bit of scandalous behavior…and it’s working wonderfully for them.

As a brand owner, you might be wondering, “Should I be posting brainrot content? If it worked for them, it should work for me!” Hold your horses — before you decide to get in on the chaos, read this article to see if this strategy could benefit or be a detriment to your brand on social media.

What is brainrot content?

“Brainrot” is a slang term referring to the deterioration of the mind from consuming mindless, low-quality content on social media. While it’s not a medical condition, consuming too much brainrot content and other similarly pointless media can have negative effects on your brain, including shortened attention span, sluggishness, and mental fogginess. So, if you decide to doomscroll on Reels before heading to work, you might find it harder to get through the day.

Why does it have this effect on the brain? Well, brainrot content is designed to be

Addictive
Low-quality
Overstimulating
Shareable

It's the digital equivalent of junk food: you know it's not particularly nutritious, but you can't stop going back for more.

This type of content is characterized by being humorous, highly specific, and fast-paced, which is perfectly suited for platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts. Brainrot content often features bizarre or random elements, surrealist imagery, internet slang, and nonsensical narratives that somehow manage to be oddly captivating.

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The rise of brainrot marketing

Brainrot officially became Oxford's Word of the Year in 2024, which tells us everything we need to know about where our collective digital attention span has gone. The term describes both the "supposed deterioration of a person's mental or intellectual state" from consuming trivial online content and the content itself that leads to the deterioration — it’s the cause and the effect.

But here's the plot twist: this supposedly brain-melting content has become marketing gold. Big brands like Netflix, Duolingo, Spotify, Wendy's, and Nike have all embraced brainrot overload with fast-paced, highly edited content that prioritizes dynamic, visually engaging material over polished, branded material.

The humor and simplicity have one purpose: to entertain. In a time when most people crave distraction, it follows that they would prefer media that doesn’t make you think.

Why brands are going viral with brainrot content

Here’s the secret sauce: Brainrot content works because it breaks the pattern that traditional advertising created. Gen Z and Gen Alpha have seen every marketing tactic in the book — they know when you're trying to sell them something, and they've developed strong mental filters to ignore obvious advertising. The beauty of brainrot content lies in its unpredictability. It catches you off guard, demands your attention, and before you know it, it’s over. However, the impression stays in the user’s mind.

Social media trends move at lightning speed, but brainrot content works because it doesn't feel like it's trying too hard to be trendy. It's so absurd and unexpected that it bypasses viewers' mental ad blockers entirely. It doesn't look like marketing, sound like marketing, or feel like marketing, which is precisely why it works as marketing.

Here are examples of brands that have struck gold utilizing brainrot content:

Pine-Sol

If we were to describe Pine-Sol’s social media presence as “unhinged,” would you believe us? This all-purpose cleaner, invented in the 1920s, has been a staple in American households for generations. Your grandmother probably used it, your mom probably used it, and now you likely have a bottle hidden somewhere in your cleaning cabinet. Their posts went from averaging around 30 likes earlier this year to tens of thousands by introducing a dancing anime boy known as Scent-Pine, who uses the cleaner to solve his problems. Now, brainrot is the power of Pinesol.

Why it works: Attracts a new, younger audience while still engaging with its core follower base.

Loewe

This polished luxury fashion brand decided to swap its celebrity-studded, high-concept aesthetic for a bit of brainrot. Loewe's TikTok video using the viral "ballerina cuppacina" audio featured a ballerina en pointe in the brand's new sneaker silhouette, paired with a cup of coffee and nonsensical voiceover. It made no overt product pitch, yet the strange presentation and deadpan delivery stopped viewers in their tracks to engage, praising the “chronically online” approach. Now, it’d be foolish to say that one video converted a new audience to buy $890 sneakers, but Loewe showed us that luxury can sometimes let loose with viral social media trends that pair well with what they’re trying to sell.

Why it works: Brought together fashion enthusiasts, dancers, and chronically online users alike for a launch with a popular social media trend.

Brita

If the thought of following a water filter brand on social media seems strange to you, 112,000+ Instagram users do not feel the same. Why? Because their content is funny. No sales pitch, no education on water contamination, just brainrot. Similar to Pine-Sol’s approach, Brita’s Reels use original audios, including a poorly produced song titled “At Least I’m Hydrated” that details relatable problems young adults may have today. It’s catchy, it’s vivid and colorful, and the excessive, quick editing makes it difficult to scroll away.

Why it works: Sometimes a big idea breaks all the rules. Although this uses relatability and humor to connect to a younger audience — sometimes you provide the most value by simply doing the most memorable thing.

The formula of successful brainrot marketing

If you believe brainrot content might be the key to reaching your target audience, here are some key ingredients to keep in mind:

Platform-native content is king. Overly polished campaigns on TikTok and Reels can feel out of step when audiences are increasingly drawn to quick, reactive, lo-fi content that feels in the moment. Social listening is a great way to see what users desire to engage with on each platform.
Embrace the chaos. Brainrot content is driven by its bizarre or random nature, captivating viewers with unexpected twists and leaving an impression without requiring deep engagement. The goal is to spark interaction, not just views. Design for reactions through bold visuals, unexpected hooks, or low-effort trend flips.
Keep it simple, keep it weird. The most successful brainrot posts don't try to explain themselves. They just exist in all their absurd glory, trusting that the internet will either get it or at least be confused enough to engage.

The success of brainrot content heavily depends on your target audience and brand positioning. Social listening is essential to understand not just who your audience is, but how they consume content, what platforms they're most active on, and how they prefer to interact with brands online. Be careful, because if you try to engage with trends carelessly, your brand could face significant backlash.

Keep reading: How to tailor content to different social media platforms

The risks of brainrot content as a strategy

While some brands have found success on social media using this type of content, that does not mean every brand will. Brainrot content can backfire significantly if it feels inauthentic or try-hard. There's a fine line between endearingly absurd and cringeworthy corporate desperation.

Damage to brand credibility

Brand safety becomes a concern when you're dabbling in the chaotic world of internet culture. Trends move fast, and what's harmless fun today might be tomorrow's PR nightmare. You need robust social listening processes and a team that understands the nuances of internet culture to point you in the right direction.

Alienating your current audience

If your brand has built its reputation on being serious and professional, a sudden (and often extreme) pivot in tone might confuse more than it engages. While some brands believe that marketing to Gen Z is the only way to find success on social media, experts like us understand that your target audience is more likely to convert.

Downward metrics after going viral

Brands that invest in brainrot media could face a large spike in views and engagement, but don’t have the necessary tools to keep that momentum going. Social media algorithms expect you to maintain that level of engagement, and if you don't, your regular content will get buried.

Inauthenticity

The most successful brands utilizing brainrot content aren't just copying trends — they're contributing to the culture and fostering a community. They understand the references, participate in the conversation, and add their own unique twist rather than just following a template. If your strategy is just to copy and paste with no creative or relevant spin, users will sniff out your inauthenticity from a mile away.

Mismatched goals

Let's be clear about what brainrot content can and can't do for your brand. This isn't your conversion-driving, lead-generating content — this is pure brand awareness play, designed to get your name in front of eyeballs and make people remember you exist.

Think of it as the digital equivalent of a billboard: you're not expecting immediate purchases, but you want brand recall when they're ready to buy. Success metrics shift from direct conversions to reach, engagement rates, and brand sentiment.

Should your brand post brainrot content? It depends.

Gen Z and Gen Alpha respond well to humor, absurdity, and meme-like content with self-aware messaging. They want brands that tap into the quirky, chaotic nature of online culture while maintaining an accessible, relatable presence.

If your brand is targeting younger demographics, has a brand personality that can handle absurdist humor, and you're looking to boost brand awareness rather than put all your effort into conversions, then it might be worth experimenting with. But if you don’t have an educated and in-touch social team, the only thing that will be rotting are your analytics.

Here is why you should hire a social media agency like Baal & Spots:

We construct and implement personalized social media strategies
We do deep research into your target audience to understand the best way to market to them
We strategize, film, edit, and post tailored video content across platforms
We provide monthly transparent analytics to showcase your performance online and where we can grow

There is a way to create engaging video content that will convert — and we have all the tools to bring it to life for you.

Want social media strategies that work for you? Baal & Spots is the social media agency Houston businesses trust.

Unsure if posting brainrot content online is the right move for your business? Whether you're ready to embrace the chaos or stick with your polished content strategy, know that there is often room for a bit of both. Informative content doesn’t have to be boring, and tapping into your humorous side usually produces good results. It’s all about trial and error.

We understand why some brands are hesitant to dip their toes into the brainrot pool. Diving headfirst into a new social strategy can be scary — if you’re doing it alone. With Baal & Spots taking care of all of your social media services (yes, all of them), you won’t have to stress about content creation or staying on top of social media trends. We are a social media agency Houston business owners trust to guide them through their digital marketing journey, and we do a pretty good job of it.

Ready to take your social media presence to the next level? Let’s talk.

Experts Answer: Should Your Brand Post Brainrot Content?