Together with
Consumer product brands are experimenting with absurd humor to stand out from the crowd and craft marketing campaigns that leave a lasting (or, at least, bewildered) impression. So far, it seems to be working.
The Big Picture: Crafting marketing that doesn’t offend consumers has become a tightrope, especially after a decade of message-driven, serious campaigns. By leaning into humor — specifically, the hyperactive absurdism popular with Gen Z and Gen Alpha — creativity is becoming more important than calls to action.
Behind The Joke: The state of digital marketing has become the Battle of the Bonkers, per Fast Company.
- Nutter Butter has taken to TikTok to craft something between millennials’ Annoying Orange and Gen Alpha’s Skibidi Toilet to create a weird, interconnected universe of bizarre characters and in-jokes.
- Duolingo has turned its own mascot into a passive-aggressive character who prods people to take their lessons or comment on their memes, shows up at Charli XCX concerts, and even appears in a Super Bowl ad, twerking.
- Pop-Tarts debuted an edible mascot at its college bowl game last season, which was, yes, eaten by the game-winning players. The edible mascot is now a Halloween costume.
- Liquid Death chose to market the water as something hardcore for hardcore people, including tapping celebrities like Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Barker as ambassadors.
The Punchline: Absurd marketing works. Nutter Butter’s videos have bagged millions of views. Duolingo saw its revenue growth soar 45% at the beginning of the year. Kellanova’s Pop-Tarts sales, well, popped 3% immediately after that fateful football game. And Liquid Death has a $1.4 billion valuation… for, and we can’t stress this enough, water. The overriding theme here is that even though no one likes to be sold to, everyone likes to have a bit of silly fun. Prepare for marketing to get way, way more ridiculous over the coming year… especially from the brands you least expect.
Go Weirder: Today’s crop of CMOs didn’t break ground with funny. Check out the “oddvertising” of just 20 years ago for a little history lesson.
TOGETHER WITH CANVA
No design skills needed! 🪄✨
Canva Pro is the design software that makes design simple, convenient, and reliable. Create what you need in no time! Jam-packed with time-saving tools that make anyone look like a professional designer.