Chaos Sells

Why your favorite brand wants you thinking about murder, nipples and the apocalypse 

Words by Carmen Macri 

We’re officially in the era of weird branding, where companies are getting riskier, louder and a hell of a lot funnier. The playbook hasn’t changed much — grab attention, be louder than the next guy — but the execution has. Forget the wholesome Coca-Cola polar bears. Today’s marketing is all about shock value, meme logic and chaos, custom-built for the chronically online. And it is working. 

Social media has flipped traditional marketing on its head. Just look at Duolingo. Instead of ignoring the running joke that their app feels more like a threat than a tool, they fully embraced it. Users started joking that the Duolingo owl was out for blood, sending unhinged, passive-aggressive notifications like “You’re falling behind,” or “I’m afraid of people who skip their lessons.” The brand leaned in, turning that fake menace into a full-blown personality. Now the owl isn’t just a mascot — it’s a chaotic menace with a cult following. 

And because of that, Duolingo’s online persona has become a lot more … violent. Just earlier this year, the company took to Twitter (we will never call it X) to share that its beloved mascot has died. 

And, of course, the post blew up. Combine that with their unhinged TikTok comments, and somehow a language-learning app ended up with millions of followers and a disturbingly powerful bird as its mascot.

So without further ado, here are our favorite chaotic brand identities that have taken the internet by storm, in no particular order. 

This one’s a bit niche — unless you live on LinkedIn. Meet “Greg at Monzo.” Instead of flashy ads or over-the-top campaigns, Monzo Bank leaned all the way into subtlety. Greg (who may or may not exist) posts the most mundane workplace gripes and HR updates with the driest, most deadpan humor — and it’s working. In just three months, he’s racked up thousands of followers by doing… basically nothing. Have you ever heard of Monzo Bank? Neither had we until we “met” Greg. One of his most popular posts, with hundreds of comments, was this: 

Which, of course, triggered a flood of foot pics in the comments – because the internet never disappoints. That, in turn, forced Greg to post a follow-up the next day

Really, there’s hardly any marketing tactic behind it, but again, it’s working. 

Another one you’ve definitely heard of — and at the risk of sounding like a broken record — Wendy’s. But credit where it’s due: they were one of the first to lean all the way into snark and sass to boost business. Their iconic roasts didn’t just build brand awareness and rack up engagement — they actually moved the needle. Case in point: their National Roast Day campaign on TikTok in 2023 led to a 4.5% spike in store visits. Turns out, sarcasm sells, and many brands started following suit. Now,  most brands, especially on TikTok and Twitter, have adopted that snarky, sarcastic persona and practically set up camp in the comment sections.

Now this next one is hyper-specific to TikTok, but we’re pretty sure you’ve heard of the brand Scrub Daddy. Yes, the smiling sponge. But what you might not expect is the sheer chaos they bring to the platform. Somehow, this wholesome cleaning brand fully embraced unhinged internet humor, and, again, it works.

Picture this: a Scrub Daddy sponge lying innocently on a countertop, getting absolutely blasted with a suspicious white liquid, while a man screams over the audio, “Y’all ready to shoot some cream all over your bathroom or your kitchen or wherever? Well, I got the product for you: Scrub Daddy Cif Cream, baby!”

Then, mid-chaos, someone walks into the room and says, “What’s up, Scrub Daddy?” And without missing a beat, the sponge — presumably the narrator — fires back, “Hey, you f***ed up my video!”

That’s it. That’s the video. That’s the marketing. And all of their other videos are equally as chaotic and slightly disturbing. 

Another classic in the world of unhinged brand TikTok is Ryanair. The budget European airline ditched the boring, polished promo content you’d expect from Delta or American and went full chaos mode instead. And it worked — millions of followers later, they’ve basically built a comedy channel disguised as an airline account.

Their secret sauce? Absolute self-awareness. They lean hard into the jokes — cramped seats, surprise fees, passenger complaints — you name it, they’ve already roasted it. Their content is tailor-made for the chronically online with videos like “What passengers who miss their flight expect us to do,” which cuts to a plane mid-air dramatically reversing to scoop someone up like it’s a UFO abduction.

They even gave their planes googly eyes and a mouth, turning them into sassy mascots that drag customers and competitors in equal measure. Their comment section is just as iconic with fast replies, witty comebacks and turning fan comments into future content.

It’s low-budget, high-impact and weirdly charming. 

At the end of the day, brands aren’t just selling products anymore; they’re selling personalities. And in an internet landscape dominated by memes, sarcasm and short attention spans, snark is the new sincerity. The polished, picture-perfect ads we grew up with don’t land the same way they used to. People want real or at least relatable.

By leaning into humor, self-deprecation and a little unhinged energy, brands are no longer talking at their audience — they’re talking with them (or roasting them, which honestly works just as well). It’s not about being professional, it’s about being memorable. And in a sea of content, that edge is everything.