Put down the brain rot strategy (do this instead)

I can’t be the only one sick of seeing it. Brands who have absolutely no business being “unhinged” doing the most online. Yawn.

Okay, maybe once upon a TikTok scroll, a big green owl threatened to kill your family if you didn’t do your Spanish lesson. You laughed. You followed. You screenshotted. You thought, “Wow. This brand gets it.”

That, my friends, was the birth of what we now call the Chaos Unhinged Brain Rot™ strategy. (Credit where credit's due, Duolingo, that sh*t worked.)

Then came Nutter Butter with its unhinged existential dread. Then RadioShack. Then Amtrak. Then… well, everyone and their fkn grandmother.

At first, it was clever. Shocking, even. But now? It’s starting to feel like your uncle trying to do the Renegade at Christmas. A little late. A lot cringe.

Here’s the thing: not everyone can pull it off. And not everyone has to, either.

Chaotic brand voice only works when it’s rooted in something real. Duolingo didn’t just post memes for the hell of it. The chaos worked because it was unexpected for an education app. The unhinged humour fit the product’s quirky gamified model.

Nutter Butter had a heritage of being a bit offbeat. Even that one kinda made sense (in a deeply disturbing way).

But Amtrak? Why is the nation’s train service spiralling into absurdist meme culture? I don’t need my travel provider talking like they’ve been locked in a group chat with Gen Z for 72 hours. I need them to be… reliable. On time. Maybe a little boring, even. Just get me to Chicago, dude. Not into a parasocial crisis. I can do that on my own, thank you v much.

Chaos ≠ strategy

“Unhinged” is not a brand strategy. It’s a tone, and a slippery one at that. Without a clear brand purpose behind it, chaos is just noise. Worse… it can feel like desperation.

It’s the social equivalent of yelling “LOOK AT ME” in a crowded room, while wearing a clown wig and Crocs. Someone might glance. But do they trust you? Remember you? Want to buy from you?

Or do they just scroll on and pray for peace?

Saturation = decline

Once every brand starts doing the same thing, the thing stops working. That’s just how the internet and culture go.

• “Chaotic brand voice” used to be disruptive. Now it’s cliché.

• What once felt risky now feels like bandwagoning.

• What once stood out now blends in.

So what should you do instead?

Fear not. There are other ways to be memorable without giving your intern an identity crisis. Let’s break it down:

1. Lean into specificity, not chaos.

Instead of being “weird for weird’s sake,” tap into the specific weirdness of your brand. What’s your unique tone? Your POV? Your edge? E.g. Liquid Death is chaotic, but also laser-focused on anti-corporate, metal-adjacent energy. It owns that space.

2. Be funny with purpose.

Humour works when it’s in service of something. Are you making a point? Subverting an expectation? Exposing a truth? Or are you just posting about shrimp for no reason?

3. Try earnestness. No really.

There’s a growing hunger for sincerity. Not every brand needs to be funny. Sometimes being useful, warm, insightful, or even quiet, is what makes you stand out.

4. Build characters, not chaos.

Don’t just shout into the void. Build a consistent persona. Think: Scrub Daddy’s wildly chipper energy or Ryanair’s sarcastic but reliable sass. Characters give chaos structure.

5. Invest in long-term storytelling.

The brands that last are not just popping off in the comments. They’re telling ongoing stories. Building community. Creating lore. Not just content for the algorithm, but connection.

Guys, the brain rot fatigue is real.

The age of chaos marketing is closing its tab. The culture has moved on. You should too. So instead of trying to outweird the last brand, try being… clear. Cohesive. Consistent. Or, wild idea—just be good at what you do.

And if you're still tempted to hop on the Brain Rot Express, ask yourself one question: Would you trust your therapist/airline/pet food brand to tweet like this?

No? Then maybe it's time to log off. Byeeee.

-Sophie Randell, Writer