Maisie Lloyd
Maisie is the Digital Content Manager at Intelligency, handling all things creative for the agency. Her experience centres around the production of digital content, pertaining to graphic design, writing copy, and video and audio content.
What is cringe content marketing?
Cringe content marketing is a type of marketing that plays on the emotional awkwardness of certain situations. Which can be wielded to create funny, tense, and even realistic types of content campaigns.
It goes beyond social norms to find a way to create an emotional response from the audience. Being able to make the audience feel something, even if it is second-hand embarrassment, proves brands can engage audiences.
Who does cringeworthy content marketing appeal to?
The power of cringe content marketing lies in its relatability. It draws on everyday moments of awkwardness and discomfort that most people have experienced at some point in their lives. Because these situations feel so familiar, audiences across generations can recognise them instantly and respond with that unmistakable “cringe” reaction.
In many ways, cringe content simply reflects the small, human experiences we often feel embarrassed about but secretly relate to.
Does cringe or awkward content marketing work?
Cringe marketing offers a different approach to creating content for audiences. Rather than appealing to comfortable or polished emotions, it embraces awkwardness to create memorable experiences for viewers, whether the cringe moment feels enjoyable or not.
Entertainment does not have to rely solely on humour or drama. Cringe marketing allows creatives to tap into more emotionally provocative experiences and generate stronger reactions from audiences. These intense responses can help make content campaigns more memorable.
While this approach is not entirely new, it has become increasingly popular as younger audiences respond to content that breaks away from traditional and highly polished marketing styles.
Examples of cringeworthy content campaigns
“A Spicy, but Not Too Spicy Plumber” by Doritos (2025)
Doritos launched its Golden Sriracha flavour with a campaign that leaned heavily into awkward humour. The advert features exaggerated sexual innuendos and deliberately uncomfortable scenarios, creating an ad that feels both icky and attention-grabbing. By embracing this awkward tone, the campaign demonstrates how discomfort can be used to capture attention and spark conversation.
Go Compare
When we think of brands that have created recognition beyond visuals, GoCompare is one of the first that comes to mind. The over-the-top opera singer Gio Compario belting “Go Compare, Go Compare!” was intentionally designed to be an earworm. The character was loud, disruptive and deliberately irritating, ensuring the adverts immediately pulled focus.
The campaign proved that annoying or awkward advertising can still be highly effective at building brand awareness.
“Women belong in the kitchen” by Burger King (2021)
“Women belong in the kitchen” was perhaps one of the biggest failures in content marketing. While the phrase was written to grab attention, the subtext that followed, which aimed to highlight female empowerment in culinary workspaces, entirely backfired.
Instead of landing as a critique of misogyny and gender inequality, it reinforced a narrative using language that is deeply entrenched in sexism. This is a clear instance where sexism was used as clickbait rather than drawing attention to the scholarship the campaign intended to promote.
Cringe marketing sits in an unusual space within modern content strategy. While traditional advertising often focuses on polished messaging and positive emotions, awkward or uncomfortable campaigns show that strong reactions can be just as powerful. Whether intentional or accidental, cringe content can spark conversation, increase engagement, and make a brand more memorable. However, as some campaigns demonstrate, there is a fine line between capturing attention and creating backlash. For brands, the challenge is knowing when awkward humour will resonate with audiences and when it may ultimately work against them.
