A Case for Unhinged Marketing (And When to Stay Buttoned Up)

A new marketing tone is taking over your feed—and it's not polished or polite. It's chaotic, self-aware, occasionally feral… and it's working.

Welcome to the era of unhinged marketing.

Think: Pop-Tarts tweeting about ravioli discourse. Ryanair using TikTok filters to mock passengers. Liquid Death building a $700M brand on satanic rituals.

Pop-Tarts Instagram from March 2025

But first: let’s get something straight. Being unhinged is not the same as being culturally relevant.

Cultural fluency—knowing what your audience cares about, the way they talk, and the relevant trends they’re tapped into—is table stakes for modern brands. Every brand - yes EVERY brand - should strive for that.

Unhinged marketing, on the other hand, is a specific tone within that larger framework. It's not for everyone—and it shouldn't be.

And it’s not all or nothing.

Sometimes, a slightly unhinged moment—an unexpected post, a bold response, a single creator-led campaign—is enough to reset how people see your brand. You don’t need to burn down your current tone to play in this space. You just need to know your boundaries—and your audience.

The Unhinged Formula (It's Not Random).

The best unhinged marketing follows a pattern that feels chaotic but isn't:

Grabs attention fast - In an oversaturated content landscape, brands need to cut through the noise" with content that feels "less like a sales pitch and more like your unfiltered group chat with your friends,

Feels human, not corporate - This approach is a deliberate withdrawal from typical, polished, corporate messaging that creates authentic connection with audiences tired of traditional brand speak.

Targets the right audience - Unhinged marketing primarily targets "Gen Z and younger millennials" through platforms "like X, TikTok and Instagram that skew younger," according to Mad Genius research.

When NOT to Go Unhinged

Here's the strategic reality most brands ignore: unhinged marketing isn't universal.

High-stakes industries should proceed with caution. Financial services, healthcare, legal, and B2B brands often can't afford the risk. When trust and credibility are your primary assets, chaotic content can backfire spectacularly.

Brand DNA matters more than trends. If your brand has built equity on professionalism, reliability, or premium positioning, suddenly going unhinged feels inauthentic. As Campaign magazine puts it: "If a brand drops the irreverent identity that has got it recognised in the first place, that would seriously undermine the brand."

The Strategic Framework

Before jumping on the unhinged bandwagon, ask yourself:

Does your brand DNA support it? Brands succeed when they're true to the brand and who you are. Irreverence should feel natural, not forced.

Is your audience ready? This approach works best for brands targeting younger demographics who expect authenticity over polish.

Do you have the long-term commitment? One-off unhinged campaigns often fail. Success requires consistent brand voice evolution, not just viral moments.

The Bottom Line

Safe marketing is starting to feel invisible. But the answer isn't chaos—it's strategic authenticity.

The most successful "unhinged" brands aren't randomly chaotic. They're deliberately embracing a tone that aligns with their audience, industry, and brand identity.

The truth is: in a world of endless content, brands that stand for nothing get lost in everything. Whether that's through calculated chaos or confident clarity, the strategy that wins is the one that's authentically, consistently you.