With all the craziness in the world, you’d be forgiven for assuming that people would want to spend their spare time indulging in something - anything - calm. Yet, so many of us purposefully seek out chaos within the chaos.
Chaotic content has become so popular that marketers are using it as a tactic to attract the attention of consumers, sell goods and rake in the money. Many brands have gone viral with their unhinged campaigns. They’re tapping into the power of raw, unpolished, messy and unpredictable content, and it's clearly working.
According to Jeans With A Blazer, a podcast for creatives, modern audiences no longer crave perfection, they crave personality.
“Chipotle proved this by poking fun at itself through a collaboration with Spirit Halloween, releasing costumes inspired by its menu items and inside jokes,” explains the Jeans With A Blazer podcast. “Instead of denying its quirks, Chipotle celebrated them—and fans responded. The campaign generated viral attention and made the brand feel approachable and self-aware.”
And if you've ever turned to Duolingo to learn another language, you might have made a new, rather wild and crazy friend in one of their mascots. They have the uncanny ability to pop up unexpectedly, and hit you with hilarious one-liners should you miss a lesson, or a few. That green owl can be blunt, threatening, aggressive, unhinged and funny all at the same time.
The app has earned a name for itself in the world of chaos marketing, and it's a badge the Duolingo team wears proudly. Chief marketing officer Manu Orssaud has previously admitted that the company’s output has been “80% unhinged, 20% wholesome.”
Meanwhile, the folks at Vermeulen Design Studio say that Duo the owl has evolved into a meme-worthy character.
"On TikTok, Duo’s antics include exaggerated skits, over-the-top reminders to study, and absurd, tongue-in-cheek threats that scream 'relatable humor.' This edgy, chaotic energy has resonated with Gen Z, whose love for irreverent, self-aware content makes Duo’s sassiness feel like a natural fit," notes the design studio's site.
"By turning a once-static character into a dynamic, meme-generating personality, Duolingo has made itself impossible to ignore," it adds.
The Jeans With A Blazer podcast also mentions Scrub Daddy and Nutter Butter as companies that used chaotic energy to transform everyday products into viral sensations.
"Scrub Daddy made cleaning funny and oddly endearing, while Nutter Butter leaned into eerie, surreal humor that left viewers both confused and entertained," it explained. "Both brands mastered one key principle: if you can surprise people, you can hold their attention."
Social media marketing specialist Rafia Hassan writes that instead of sticking to traditional ads, Scrub Daddy leaned into something far more radical: chaotic Gen Z humor.
"They turned the sponge into a persona, a sassy, animated, and slightly unhinged social media character," Hassan said. "Think videos of Scrub Daddy mocking competitors like Scotch-Brite or parodying viral trends, all while showing off cleaning hacks, ASMR unboxings, and fan-made content."
