Spoiler alert: Nobody opens Instagram hoping to see your product shot today. I’m sorry. Not your sleek coffee cup, not your “best-in-class” skincare serum, not even your painfully aesthetic flat lay of ‘desk goals.’
In 2025, if your content doesn’t entertain, it doesn’t exist. End of story.
But don’t worry — this isn’t a depressing “the algorithm hates you” post. This is a guide to flipping your marketing strategy on its head and making people care about what you do by making them laugh, feel, or get so hooked they don’t realize you’re marketing to them until it’s too late.
Let’s get into it.
The Age of Attention Deficit
We’re living in the golden era of split attention. One tab open for work. One eye on TikTok. One brain cell left.
And while traditional marketing teams are still arguing over whether Helvetica is “too bold,” Gen Z and Millennials are watching a dancing owl threaten to haunt their dreams if they skip Spanish practice. (Yes, Duolingo’s unhinged mascot is a case study now.)
If your content doesn’t stop the scroll in 1.7 seconds, congratulations — you’ve just been ignored faster than a Terms & Conditions popup.
Brands That Entertain (and Casually Sell on the Side)
The smart ones already cracked this code. Let’s name names:
Duolingo’s TikTok: Is it educational? Sometimes. Is it deeply chaotic and weirdly addictive? Absolutely. And people love it.
Oatly’s awkward, self-aware ads: Intentionally lo-fi, cringey campaigns that poke fun at advertising while secretly being brilliant advertising.
Old Spice’s absurdist ad campaigns: Surreal, over-the-top humor in every video. Nobody watches an Old Spice ad for deodorant — they watch for the ridiculous entertainment factor.
None of these brands start with “Here’s our new product.” They start with “Here’s something hilarious / bizarre / relatable you didn’t know you needed today.”
Product shows up later, like a polite party guest who brings wine but doesn’t immediately tell you it’s from their new vineyard.
Why This Works
People don’t buy from brands they don’t feel anything for. They buy from the ones that entertain them, make them laugh, teach them something weird, or hit them with nostalgia at exactly the right moment.
Entertainment = Emotional connection.
Emotional connection = Attention.
Attention = Sales (eventually).
Also — and this is key — social platforms don’t care about your brand’s marketing goals. They care about content people engage with. The faster you realize your job is to entertain, the faster your content gets seen.
How to Flip Your Strategy
Alright, so how do you do this without dropping millions on celebrity cameos or creating a rogue mascot? Try these:
1. Create content you’d actually watch if it wasn’t yours.
If you’d scroll past your own post, delete it and start over.
2. Jump on formats your audience already loves.
Think trending audios, lo-fi meme dumps, or mockumentary-style Reels. Yes, even if you sell accounting software.
3. Make the product a background character, not the main event.
Sneak it in, don’t shove it in. Like how The Office casually had Dunder Mifflin paper in every scene, but nobody tuned in for the stationary.
4. Collaborate with creators who get your vibe.
Not just for reach — for authenticity. Let them lead. Their audience knows when it’s forced.
5. Test dumb ideas.
Seriously. That one chaotic, weird, scrappy post you’re unsure about? It’ll probably outperform your polished campaign.
The Business Case for Entertaining Content
Besides making you more likable than a 2-for-1 coupon, entertaining content works. Here’s why:
Algorithms reward retention and engagement.
If your video makes someone laugh or rewatch, it travels further.
People share entertainment, not ads.
Think about the last post you sent to a friend. Was it a product demo? Or a baby goat in pajamas? Case closed.
Memory sticks to emotions.
If you made someone feel something, your brand earned real estate in their brain.
Would You Watch This?
Here’s your gut-check question before you hit publish:
Would I watch this if I wasn’t paid to care?
If not, rethink it.
Because the brands crushing it in 2025 aren’t the ones with the glossiest ads. They’re the ones you accidentally rewatch three times because it was genuinely good.
And those are the brands that win — and quietly sell a ton while they’re at it.
P.S.
If your brand’s content feels a little meh, drop us a message. We’ll make it weird, wonderful, and watchable again.
Ninabelle Tukha Creative 
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