Not long ago, most brand social media accounts sounded almost identical. They posted product announcements, promotional discounts, polished advertisements, and carefully worded press releases designed to maintain a professional image. Today, however, many of the internet’s most recognizable accounts behave less like corporations and more like internet personalities.
They make jokes, join memes, tease competitors, respond to followers with sarcasm, and sometimes become just as entertaining as the products they sell. This transformation reflects a major shift in digital marketing and online culture. Social media users increasingly expect brands to participate in conversations rather than simply advertise to them. As a result, many companies have developed playful online personas that blur the line between marketing and entertainment.
Brands Used to Sound Like Advertisements
In the early days of social media, businesses generally treated platforms like digital billboards. Posts focused on product launches, company news, promotional offers, and customer service announcements. The tone remained formal and carefully controlled because brands wanted to project professionalism while avoiding unnecessary controversy.
Marketing teams rarely interacted directly with individual followers beyond answering customer questions. Conversations were limited, humor was used sparingly, and posts often resembled traditional advertisements adapted for Facebook or Twitter. Companies saw social media primarily as another place to distribute marketing messages rather than build ongoing relationships with audiences.
While this approach worked for sharing information, it rarely encouraged people to engage voluntarily with brand accounts. Most users followed companies only to receive updates or discounts, not because they genuinely enjoyed the content. That would eventually change as internet culture evolved and audiences began expecting something far more entertaining.
Twitter Changed the Rules
The rise of Twitter, now known as X, helped reshape how brands communicated online. The platform’s fast-moving conversations, short posts, and public replies encouraged companies to participate in trending topics alongside celebrities, journalists, and everyday users. Rather than broadcasting announcements, brands suddenly had opportunities to join ongoing internet conversations in real time.
Some companies discovered that witty replies and clever observations generated far more attention than traditional advertisements. A humorous response to a viral tweet could receive millions of views, reaching audiences that ordinary promotional posts never would. This encouraged marketing teams to experiment with more conversational and playful personalities.
As these interactions became more common, audiences started treating certain brand accounts like internet celebrities. Instead of waiting for product announcements, people began following them simply to see what they might post next, fundamentally changing expectations for corporate social media.
Wendy’s Helped Define the Trend
Few companies influenced this shift more than Wendy’s. The fast-food chain became famous for its sarcastic replies, humorous insults directed at competitors, and willingness to participate in internet memes. Rather than maintaining a polished corporate voice, the account adopted a playful personality that felt remarkably similar to an ordinary social media user.
The success of Wendy’s demonstrated that humor could generate enormous engagement without relying on traditional advertising. Screenshots of clever exchanges regularly spread beyond Twitter, appearing on news websites, Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram. Many people who had little interest in hamburgers still followed the account because they found its posts entertaining.
Following Wendy’s success, numerous brands adopted similar strategies. Companies across industries began experimenting with jokes, memes, playful banter, and self-aware humor, recognizing that audiences responded positively to brands willing to show personality instead of maintaining rigid corporate formality.
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Brands That Became Internet Personalities
Wendy’s may have helped popularize the modern “unhinged” brand voice, but it was far from the only company to embrace the trend. Accounts such as Duolingo, Ryanair, MoonPie, Steak-umm, Xbox, Scrub Daddy, Chipotle, and Netflix have each developed distinctive online personalities that regularly participate in memes, trending conversations, and humorous interactions with followers. Rather than limiting themselves to product promotion, these brands have become recognizable characters within internet culture.
Each company approaches the style differently. Duolingo’s green owl mascot became famous for exaggerated jokes and self-aware videos on TikTok, while Ryanair turned budget airline stereotypes into running internet jokes. MoonPie built a quirky personality through surreal humor, Steak-umm became known for surprisingly thoughtful discussions alongside memes, and Scrub Daddy mixed product demonstrations with playful online trends.
The success of these accounts demonstrates that there is no single formula for becoming an internet favorite. What they share is a clear, consistent personality that feels authentic to their audience. By combining timely humor with a recognizable voice, these brands have shown that social media followers often return for the entertainment just as much as the products, turning corporate accounts into some of the internet’s most memorable online personalities.
Memes Became a Marketing Language
As meme culture became a central part of internet communication, brands quickly realized they could no longer rely solely on traditional advertising. Instead of promoting products through polished campaigns alone, many companies began participating in popular jokes, reaction images, trending audio, and viral formats. Speaking the language of the internet helped brands appear more relevant to younger audiences who were already communicating through memes every day.
Successful brands don’t simply copy viral trends—they adapt them to fit their own personalities. A fast-food chain might turn a trending joke into a humorous post about fries, while a streaming service references popular television shows through familiar meme formats. When done well, these posts feel like natural contributions to internet culture rather than obvious advertisements trying to appear trendy.
This approach has made memes an important marketing tool rather than just entertainment. Companies now monitor online trends closely, knowing that participating in the right conversation at the right moment can generate millions of views, shares, and comments without requiring a traditional advertising campaign.
Every Brand Wants a Distinct Personality
Today’s companies recognize that products alone are rarely enough to stand out on crowded social media platforms. Instead, many have developed recognizable online personalities with their own sense of humor, tone of voice, and style of interaction. Some accounts are sarcastic, others are wholesome, while some embrace chaotic humor that has become known online as being “unhinged.”
This consistency helps followers recognize a brand’s content immediately, even before seeing the company name. Just as audiences associate certain creators with particular personalities, they now expect brands to maintain distinctive online voices that remain consistent across different platforms. The account itself becomes a recognizable character with predictable behaviors and running jokes.
Developing a memorable personality also strengthens long-term engagement. Followers may not need a company’s products every day, but they continue returning because they enjoy the content. In many cases, the entertainment value of the account helps build familiarity that eventually influences purchasing decisions as well.
Brand Accounts Talk to Each Other
One of the most entertaining developments in modern social media has been the way brands publicly interact with one another. Companies frequently exchange jokes, playful insults, compliments, or humorous responses that attract enormous attention from audiences. These conversations often feel less like corporate communication and more like online friends teasing each other.
Some of these exchanges become viral events in their own right. Followers eagerly watch conversations unfold between restaurants, streaming platforms, sports teams, snack companies, airlines, and technology brands, treating the interactions almost like episodes in an ongoing online comedy. Screenshots frequently spread across multiple platforms, extending the reach far beyond the original audience.
These public interactions also reinforce each brand’s personality. Rather than existing in isolation, accounts become recurring characters within a larger online community where audiences anticipate future conversations. This interconnected style of communication has helped make social media feel more entertaining while giving brands additional opportunities to remain culturally relevant.
Anna Zvereva from Tallinn, Estonia, Ryanair, EI-DYZ, Boeing 737-8AS (49585974527), CC BY-SA 2.0
Not Every Brand Can Pull It Off
Although unhinged marketing has become popular, it isn’t a strategy that works for every company. Humor that feels natural for a fast-food chain or snack brand may seem out of place coming from a bank, hospital, or insurance provider. Successful brand accounts understand their audience and adapt their personality to match the products, industry, and expectations surrounding the business.
Authenticity also matters. Internet users are quick to recognize when a company is forcing memes or copying trends without understanding them. Posts that feel overly manufactured or several days behind the conversation often receive criticism instead of engagement. The most successful brands participate because their personalities feel genuine, not because they’re trying to chase every viral moment.
This balance between humor and professionalism requires careful planning. Companies must remain entertaining without damaging their reputation, crossing social boundaries, or distracting from the products they ultimately want to promote. The brands that succeed are usually those that know exactly when to joke—and when not to.
Fans Follow the Character, Not Just the Company
Many people now follow brand accounts even when they have little interest in buying the products being advertised. The account itself becomes the attraction, with followers returning for funny posts, clever replies, and unexpected interactions rather than promotional announcements. In many ways, these brands have evolved into recurring characters within the broader world of social media.
Some accounts develop running jokes, fictional personalities, or recognizable styles of humor that audiences immediately associate with them. Followers begin anticipating how a particular brand will respond to trending topics, major sporting events, viral memes, or celebrity news. This consistency helps transform the account into an ongoing source of entertainment instead of a simple marketing channel.
The result is a new kind of brand loyalty built around personality as much as products. People enjoy engaging with companies that make them laugh, and those positive interactions often create stronger emotional connections than traditional advertising campaigns ever could.
The Future of Brand Personality Online
As social media continues evolving, brand personalities are likely to become even more creative and interactive. Companies are experimenting with short-form videos, livestreams, fictional storylines, AI-generated content, and collaborative posts that allow audiences to participate directly in conversations. The line between entertainment, community building, and marketing continues to blur with each new platform and trend.
At the same time, audiences have become more selective about which brands they engage with. Simply being funny is no longer enough. Companies are expected to balance humor with authenticity, respond thoughtfully to current events, and maintain a personality that feels consistent over time. Brands that successfully combine creativity with genuine interaction are more likely to build lasting communities rather than temporary viral moments.
This evolution suggests that social media managers will continue playing an increasingly important role within modern businesses. Rather than simply promoting products, they are helping shape public identities that influence how millions of people perceive a brand every day.
Conclusion
The rise of unhinged brand accounts has transformed corporate social media from a place for announcements into a form of entertainment. Through memes, witty replies, playful rivalries, and recognizable personalities, companies have learned that audiences respond far more enthusiastically to conversation than traditional advertising.
In many cases, the account itself has become as memorable as the products it represents. As internet culture continues changing, brands will likely keep adapting their online voices to match the humor, creativity, and expectations of digital audiences. In today’s social media landscape, becoming a memorable character can be just as valuable as becoming a recognizable brand.