Social Media Surrealism: A Brand’s Guide to Gen Z Brand Marketing 

Image credited to @starlightsandy & @laurenrandi https://www.instagram.com/adolescentcontent/p/Ck9PnECJ6eC/?img_index=5 

TL;DR 

A fun-sized summary of this article

• Rizz this, gyatt that - what do words mean anymore? For Gen Z, it’s a joke whose layers have layers, all of which are ironic. 

• Learning the language of Gen Z humor in online spaces is no easy task, but is one well-rewarded.

• Humor, as it exists online, is a collective effort; jokes bounce from platform to platform, recontextualized by the culture that exists on each one as they evolve into something entirely new.

• Anti-design is on the rise - these days, we’re more into a Microsoft Paint vibe than your standard Canva connoisseur.

No, you're not crazy; the internet is getting weirder. 

Digital culture has never been more chaotic - or more deliberate in its chaos. What was once subcultural is now mainstream, with the most successful brands learning to speak Gen Z’s weird, incoherent language to speak to us there. The new cultural currency is absurdism - a deliriously irreverent niche where humor, marketing, and social media collide. 

Absurdity is the punchline (and the point)

The internet, our beloved shitpost swamp of nonsense and brain rot, has created a thriving -and convoluted - ecosystem of humor. Referential and contextually driven, jokes aren’t singular or static; they are living things, communally shaped and constantly evolving. 

Most of the time, deeply online humor isn’t funny because it’s clear; it’s funny because of how absurd it becomes the longer it exists online. The growth of a joke is often funnier than the punchline itself - if there even is one at all.

*Think: "Why did the chicken cross the road?" but the punchline is a runaway “yes, and” exercise where the chicken ends up an existential symbol of the modern condition.

Shitposting: The Art of Nonsense

Now I won't say that Gen Z invented the shitpost -  but I will say the art of shitpost would have never reached the heights it has without our quirky humor. Intellectuals (enlighted individuals who spend wayyyy too much time on Reddit) dub this Digital Dadaism: a complete rejection of coherence, from which we may derive some kind of chaotic meaning, as well as lots and lots of fun. In fact, the more incoherent, the better. 

But don’t mistake that for randomness - there’s purpose here, if not intent. Gen Z’s world is hyper-connected and information-saturated; in that respect, sometimes the less sense something makes, the more real it feels to us. This is a language Gen Z speaks fluently, so if your brand wants to reach us, it won’t be through a traditional ad campaign. You need to become a part of the conversation.

Aesthetics of absurdity

The absurd doesn’t just live in language - it’s embedded in the very aesthetics of Gen Z’s online world. Anti-design - think Comic Sans, fried visuals - works in ways more polished imagery doesn’t anymore. A jankily edited clip with buzzy audio and glitchy graphics? Masterpiece. Gen Z’s favorite marketing has come to resemble abstraction and performance art rather than billboards.

But why does this work? And what does Gen Z get out of ads that feel like they’ve been thrown together in a back alley somewhere? There’s no more successful case study of this strategy than the Nutter Butter TikTok page, which has garnered millions of followers with its distinctly “anti-design” approach - complete with jarring visuals and off-kilter typography. Their Gen Z brand marketing is so effective because everything they post looks like a meme, not an ad. The glitchy, lo-fi visuals somehow feel more genuine; it is quintessentially anti-curation. 

The absurd: the key to Gen Z brand marketing 

So, what role do brands play in the ecosystem of Gen Z’s online language? Usually a punchline. But sometimes they get it right - brands like Minor Figures have found their niche by adapting. Their marketing plays with the same irreverent energy that defines Gen Z humor - surreal visuals, cheeky absurdity, and a sense of playfulness. 

The takeaway? To get in with a Gen Z audience, you need to speak like a local. We love brands that understand our language and are fearless about showing off their weird side. So go ahead - embrace the chaos. It’s the only way to get in on the joke.