Why Brands Need to Play to Win with Gen Z

From Curry’s horse kicking a chicken into the air fryer, to bratty lime green everywhere and even Kamala Harris’ TikTok response after her Trump debate, advertising aimed at Gen Z has absolutely gone the way of play. 

And why not: kidcore, or the return to childhood playfulness, is alive and kicking. Imagine, 43% of Americans over the age of 18 purchased a toy for themselves in the past year while over on TikTok there are 60.6M #sonnyangel posts, celebrating the eponymous doll designed to be the ‘patron saint of lonely women’.

Getting away from it all

So what’s behind this generation’s desire for playfulness? Escapism - gen z crave it. With so many plagued by climate anxiety, loneliness, vaping addictions, shrinking job markets… wouldn’t you like to get away from it all, too? Adopting new and silly ways to express themselves, perhaps even turning back the clock to their childhoods. It’s all a form of daydreaming your way out of stress. Just look at other nostalgia-driven trends, like Indie Sleaze and even Cottagecore – always looking backwards to a more pleasant, less stressful moment in time. 

There’s so much opportunity here for brands to help gen z find new ways to explore that side of themselves, to float above the harsh realities of work or exams momentarily and what feels like the slow crumble of both society and the environment. (One brand that’s done this really well is Netflix, who’ve used their IP to create full liveable worlds for gen z to escape into, from the relative simplicity of themed Bridgerton balls to the full-on experience of the Netflix House.)

Funny peculiar

And if it’s not escapism that’s driving this love of play, then it’s gen z’s appreciation of irreverence. They’ve seen films go from overtly sincere, like Lord of the Rings, to quippy and silly, like The Avengers, to Deadpool being self-referential and full of metahumour. Ours is a generation that has grown up with flippancy and fun in our media from day dot. 

It’s something gen z’s most beloved brand Duolingo cottoned on to early. While the app might seem to have boring origins (Homework? Outside of school? Bleh!), the brand has used its social media presence to develop a more playful persona with its mascot, Duo the Owl. They’ve teased a Love Island parody programme where no one speaks the same language and an ice-skating extravaganza featuring the owl demanding children as a blood sacrifice. The tactic has paid off – Duolingo has seen a 500% income increase since last year. 

Of course, it isn’t only gen z who enjoy a spot of playful marketing. Humour is a great tool for creative effectiveness across all audiences, and arguably the single most powerful tool in the agency toolbox. But for years, the use of humour in advertising was in decline despite its proven effectiveness, with that trend only recently reversing (a subject my agency explored in a recent webinar for marketers). 

Personally, I like to think it's gen z and its love of unhinged humour and sublime playfulness that’s helped the industry find its way again 😉