The following is a guest piece written by Evan Horowitz, co-founder and CEO at Movers+Shakers. Opinion’s are the author’s own.
As Gen Alpha develops a stronger consumer presence online, their unique — and frankly bizarre — style of humor is emerging as an effective way to engage with them. Born into a digital world, this generation is drawn to absurd and often unpredictable content, making them a fascinating yet challenging audience for marketers.
Some companies are nailing this by tapping into the chaotic, meme-driven humor that Gen Alpha loves. Let’s take a look at three brands that get it right — Sour Patch Kids, Nutter Butter, and Crocs — and what your brand can learn from their success.
Sour Patch Kids
Sour Patch Kids has always had mischievous and playful marketing, but the brand has now translated its rebellious humor into socially-native content. Its TikTok presence leans into Gen Alpha’s humor with content that purposefully makes no sense, like “sourp” and chaotic slideshows of memes.
What they’re doing right
- Playful rebellion: Gen Alpha loves humor with a slight edge, and Sour Patch Kids taps into this with a sense of playful rebellion that appeals to kids and tweens.
- Interactive content: Sour Patch Kids’ marketing often inspires audience participation by encouraging users to tag people in the comments or share their posts.
- Lesson for other brands: Balancing humor with brand identity is crucial. Sour Patch Kids blends the product’s core identity with the type of humor its audience loves. Other brands can learn from this by ensuring that their humor reflects their personality.
Nutter Butter
Nutter Butter has made waves on social media with its inexplicably bizarre content, leaning heavily into absurdist humor that keeps Gen Alpha laughing.
Whether it’s showing a Nutter Butter cookie on fire at a playground or horror-fueled visuals that look like a crime scene, Nutter Butter embraces the nonsensical in a way that speaks directly to Gen Alpha’s unhinged humor (and maybe even scares other generations).
What they’re doing right
- Embracing randomness: Gen Alpha’s humor thrives on randomness and unpredictability, and Nutter Butter’s posts feel spontaneous and out of left field. The brand craft content that mirrors the strange and abstract humor found in internet memes.
- Keeping it visual and short: This generation doesn’t have the patience for long-form content. Nutter Butter’s short, punchy posts get to the point, often delivering the humor in just a few seconds.
- Lesson for other brands: Humor doesn’t always need to make sense; sometimes it can simply be entertaining. By leaning into chaotic and unhinged humor, brands can break through the noise and stand out. Don’t be afraid to experiment with the weird, as it resonates deeply with Gen Alpha.
Crocs
Crocs is a brand that has fully embraced its “weird” reputation over the years and turned it into a badge of honor. On social media, Crocs has managed to stay top-of-mind by leaning into trends and memes that are popular with Gen Zalpha, a hybrid of Gen Z and Gen Alpha, and recently even tagged Nutter Butter in a video inspired by their style of content.
What they’re doing right
- Self-aware humor: Crocs isn’t trying to be something it’s not. Instead, it has embraced the fact that their product is quirky, using that self-awareness to push the boundaries of what’s expected from a brand.
- Riding relevant trends: The brand doesn’t just tap into any trend, but it carefully choose ones that make sense for them. For example, “crafting and yapping” and “Crocsmaxxing.”
- Lesson for other brands: Authenticity is everything with Gen Alpha, and being in on the joke is crucial. Brands that try too hard to seem “cool” may miss the mark, but those that embrace their true identity — and find humor in it — will connect in a more meaningful way.
What brands can learn
The success of Sour Patch Kids, Nutter Butter and Crocs reveals a few key lessons that any brand can adopt when trying to connect with Gen Alpha through humor:
- Absurdity works: Don’t be afraid to get weird. This generation loves the strange, the surreal and the unexpected, so brands should feel free to lean into the bizarre.
- Keep it short and visual: With an attention span that thrives on quick consumption, punchy, visual content reigns supreme.
- Stay true to your brand’s identity: Authenticity is crucial. Gen Alpha can see through forced humor, so make sure your brand’s humor is aligned with its core personality.
- Incorporate playful rebellion: This generation loves a bit of edge, but it should always be fun and lighthearted, never mean-spirited or offensive.
As Gen Alpha continues to grow, brands that embrace their unique sense of humor — filled with absurdity and authenticity — will be the ones to win their loyalty. By taking a cue from these standout examples, brands have the opportunity to entertain and engage with the next big consumer generation in fresh and exciting ways.
