“Paneer, tum mujhe kabhi dhokha nahi doge na?”
Doesn’t this line sound familiar? This was one VIRAL TREND that was everywhere on social media. Views kept multiplying into hundreds and then thousands. Even brands started noticing how such baseless content was dominating audience attention online.
Despite despising such content, millions of people ended up watching them anyway. They also ended up getting thousands of shares, millions of views, and saves.
And suddenly, our feeds’ algorithms were full of emotional fruits and vegetables, out-of-tune dubbed AI voices, and whatnot!!
Understanding Viral Trends
This clearly conveys one thing: creativity has now reached new heights. People and technology are getting way too flexible when it comes to expression. Critics of such videos ended up recreating them for entertainment and engagement purposes.
This is exactly what makes this or any “trend” interesting. Today, social media is all about likes and fame. It is not about talent. If a cringe-worthy content clicks, it clicks… For all we know, today it is not just about adding a pinch of traditional essence of advertising and promotion. It is all about unpredictability.
This is why it is important to realize that creators understand their audience’s mood, which is somewhat lacking in the business world. It is not just about displaying affection, but about causing a stir.
For years, brands have just been focusing on making their projects look polished and perfect. Be it lighting, props, scripts, or marketing, everything has to be perfect! This pool of flawlessness is what led to the gradual decline in the way someone perceives a brand. It is also a reason why a brand’s content gets more and more predictable with time.
To challenge predictability, AI took over.
Initially, content created using AI felt strange and confusing. But with time, people got comfortable using it for content creation. What usually takes hours or even weeks to shoot and edit can now be done in minutes. And yes, even animated edits.
With faster turnaround time, daily posting became easier. Which also made such content harder to ignore. This is exactly how social media marketing is evolving in 2026. AI is not just changing how content is created, it is also about what people’s watching preferences are.
Despite all these changing trends, some brands still follow the same old social media strategies. Audiences today are so used to consuming fast, dramatic, and exaggerated content that playing safe doesn’t work. Same old corporate posts and predictable content flow are why some brands are struggling to grow online.
Adapting to old methods in today’s advertising world is like trying to win an F1 race in a horse cart. Brands have to understand their audience’s behaviour and adapt accordingly. Because on the internet, attention is everything.
What Can Brands Learn From AI-Driven Content?
There are some things that brands today should learn from their competitors, which in this context is Artificial Intelligence. They should know how to be different as an advertising agency, in terms of ideation, sounding human enough to convey the brand’s message, etc. Though one major thing agencies must focus on is realizing when to stop sounding like one.
Now, this doesn’t mean that these brain-rot trends should be followed blindly for traction. The core reason being that the trends showing “paneer versus matar”, “kadhi versus rice”, and much more died down no sooner than they arrived! Though these brain-rot video creators got what they wanted -views, engagement, and recognition. Because they know people want more than just content.
However, though content creation has become easier with A.I., grabbing attention has become difficult. And in this era of technological growth, where generating content in seconds has become easier, it has also become easier to differentiate between interesting and dull ways of storytelling.
The lessons that brands need to learn from this well-performing content are many. But mostly, the shared content must be casual, slightly imperfect, and emotionally real. Do you remember the 2019 Surf Excel “Rang Laaye Sang” Holi ad? These kinds of ads are known for being culturally aware and showcasing religious harmony.
The internet is a place where people connect with content that is raw and organic, and prefer authenticity over extremely polished content. And trends just come and go, just like the “Paneer Ne Matar Ko Dhokha Diya” trend. Also, the thing about modern marketing is that people don’t forget content that makes them feel something. Even if it is confusing, people on the internet prefer unpredictable storytelling. This is something every marketing agency should understand while planning campaigns.
And honestly, this tells us a lot about the current state of social media.
- AI can generate visuals.
- AI can generate captions.
- AI can even generate stories.
But understanding human attention?
That still takes a human mind.
