How TikTok Changed Advertising Forever

TikTok flipped that paradigm. Unlike other social media that emphasizes connections or follower counts, TikTok’s algorithm prioritizes entertainment. That means for brands to stand out, they have to act more like “an entertainment company,” Henry said.

“Brands are showing up [on TikTok] among some of the most random and brilliant things in the world, not in the context of other ads in an ad break,” he explained.

Competing for eyeballs in an environment known for dance videos, comedy sketches, and tutorials has spurred many brands “to be riskier with the type of content they produce and try new things,” with some “leaning into the surreal nature of content popular on TikTok,” Walters said.

Chipotle, which challenged fans to dance to the viral “Guacamole Song,” and Duolingo, whose cheeky, dancing owl became Internet famous, were early TikTok adopters that ventured into unexpected and sometimes bizarre territory. But it worked—especially in appealing to Gen Z.

@duolingo UN OR UNE I’M SCARED #duolingo #languagelearning ♬ som original – ✩

Take Nutter Butter. The 55 year-old cookie brand grew a cult following on TikTok with strange, fever-dreamlike posts that sometimes confused its own social media team. Zach Poczekaj, social media manager at the brand’s agency, Dentsu Creative, told The New York Times in October: “If a piece of content makes too much sense, it doesn’t perform as well.”