Should Advertisers Incorporate Brain Rot into their Marketing?

Written by Talula Martin

Media Analytics Executive

Photo courtesy of TikTok.com.

As Generation Z enters the workforce and the oldest of Generation Alpha begins high school, younger consumers have become an increasingly important demographic for markets. This new group of potential customers invites companies to try their hand at appealing to them through new strategies. Following online trends has become a popular way to grasp the attention of teenagers and young adults, but how far should this be taken? That’s where the controversial issue of “brain rot” comes in and the possibilities of its implementation in modern advertising.

First, it’s important to know what brain rot actually means. It refers to low-quality, intellectually deteriorating online content that overstimulates the brain, most commonly associated with TikTok. It is also an umbrella term for slang developed by Gen Z and Gen Alpha to accompany this kind of content. “Skibidi,” “rizz,” “sussy imposter” and other phrases that may sound like gibberish to older generations are often utilized by younger ones in their everyday and online language.

Now, let’s look at three different examples of brands incorporating brain rot into their marketing strategies—Nutter Butter, Walmart and KFC—to see what does and doesn’t land.

Photo courtesy of TikTok.com.

It may come as a surprise, but the sandwich cookie brand Nutter Butter has been thriving due to online brain rot content. The official Nutter Butter TikTok account has gained 1.6 million followers and over 10 million likes through its usage of fast-paced editing, psychedelic colors and disturbing, nonsensical imagery.

One of their TikTok social media marketing accounts, @KFC_UKI, followed a similar method as Nutter Butter, but they leaned more heavily into explicit brain rot terminology and memes. Their use of common elements in current online trends, such as the Roblox default Man Face, Skibidi Toilet and AI, has gained the account a million followers and over 21 million likes so far, reaching a far wider audience than Nutter Butter.

However, despite the numerous examples of companies successfully applying brain rot to their marketing, plenty of marketers have messed it up. In 2024, Walmart released a now-deleted ad for their children’s clothing line. In the commercial, a young girl teaches a woman how to use brain rot slang like “maximum aura points,” “you ate” and “Ohio.” This ad was ill-received and heavily ridiculed online, leading Walmart to remove it from all platforms.

So, what have we learned? Younger audiences do tend to enjoy brain rot content from brands, but only if it’s done correctly. Creating ads that replicate user-generated content online instead of utilizing traditional advertising formats is optimal for building a loyal fanbase that not only approves of branded content but happily consumes it.