Brainrot content strategies and their impact on generation Z’s brand engagement

Purpose This study aims to examine how brainrot content strategies drive Generation Z’s brand engagement and the psychological and social mechanisms behind their virality. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study analyzes 42 TikTok videos from nine brands and 20,919 electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) comments via content and sentiment analysis, integrating uses and gratifications, emotional contagion and social influence theories. Findings Brainrot content drives engagement through absurdity, product personification, addictive audio-visual contrasts and bizarre artificial intelligence (AI)-generated visuals. e-WOM reveals four themes: surprise at official accounts, admiration for marketing teams, “unseriousness” as engagement and humorous sarcasm enhancing brand friendliness. Sentiment polarity is 70.6% positive. Research limitations/implications The qualitative, single-platform sample limits generalizability; future research should use longitudinal, cross-platform and experimental designs to test AI disclosure effects and long-term impacts on brand loyalty and Gen Z mental health. Practical implications Brands should prioritize product personification and audio-visual contrast over generic humor, offer cognitive decompression and high-arousal amusement, align with meme culture norms while protecting brand values and monitor e-WOM continuously. Social implications The addictive nature of brainrot raises concerns for Gen Z’s mental health, urging ethical content creation amid digital overload. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, as one of the first empirical examinations of brainrot as an emerging marketing practice, this research applies a theoretical triad to explain absurdity-driven brand engagement. Within the scope of the studied brands and a single platform, it offers novel insights into brainrot content strategies and AI’s role in fostering authentic Gen Z-brand connections, while indicating that these strategies are context-dependent rather than universally generalizable.