Advertainment on Social Media: Clever Marketing or Gimmick?

Attention spans are short, and traditional ads are getting skipped, scrolled past, or ignored entirely. That’s why brands are leaning into advertainment, turning their content into something people want to watch.

But is this approach a real strategy or a fleeting gimmick?

Let’s dig into why advertainment is everywhere, how it works, and whether it’s delivering results beyond likes and laughs.

What is advertainment?

Advertainment is a marketing strategy that blends advertising with entertainment.

Instead of pushing direct sales messages, advertainment focuses on engagement first—whether that’s through humor, storytelling, or interactive experiences.

Worth noting, advertainment isn’t new.

Long before social media, brands were producing advertainment through jingles, sponsored radio and TV shows (soap operas literally got their name from soap companies funding them), or commercials with recurring characters.

Fast-forward to today, and social media has taken advertainment to a new level.

Viral TikToks, meme marketing, influencer-led comedy skits—advertainment has evolved into an entire content strategy for brands trying to stand out.

But is this approach effective? Let’s take a look at the bigger picture.

What is the intent of advertainment?

Advertainment is aligned with the following goals:

• Capturing attention – Cuts through noise by delivering more ambitious content.
• Improving brand recall – People remember entertainment. Jingles, skits, mini-dramas stick in the mind longer than a standard ad.
• Driving engagement – A well-executed piece of advertainment gets shared, increasing its reach far beyond paid media.

Sometimes, there’s another intent (or even a collateral one), such as soft-selling.

Instead of screaming “buy now,” advertainment subtly integrates products into the experience, influencing purchasing decisions without the hard sell.

Does advertainment overlap with other marketing tactics?

Yes, advertainment often crosses paths with other advertising formats, such as product placements and sponsorships.

Advertainment vs. product placement

Product placement is when a brand subtly integrates its product into a movie, TV show, or influencer’s content.

The difference? Product placement exists within entertainment, while advertainment is the entertainment.

Let’s see it with examples:

An example of product placement is James Bond driving an Aston Martin—it’s part of the story, but the film itself isn’t about the car.

An example of advertainment could be a YouTube series created by Aston Martin that’s all about luxury travel and high-performance driving.

Advertainment vs. entertaining ads

Not all entertaining ads are advertainment. The key difference is intent.

Entertaining ads are still structured as traditional commercials—just with humor or creative storytelling. They’re designed to sell first, entertain second.

Advertainment flips this. The content is engaging enough to stand on its own, with the brand seamlessly woven into the experience.

Other overlaps: Branded content, infotainment

Branded content is often used interchangeably with advertainment, but branded content leans more on storytelling rather than humor or spectacle.

Think Nike’s Trained podcast focused on athetes’ mindset, movement, nutrition, recovery. and sleep.

Infotainment is brands educating while entertaining. Example: Duolingo’s TikTok presence blending humor with language learning.

These distinctions matter because not every brand needs full-blown advertainment.

Some benefit more from strategic product placement, quick traditional ads, or long-form storytelling.

The key is knowing when and how to mix entertainment with brand messaging.

Why advertainment is on the rise

Instead of interrupting our content, brands are creating it. The best examples don’t feel like ads at all—they feel like something you’d genuinely enjoy watching.

People remember things that make them feel something. Humor, storytelling, and emotion-driven content stick far longer than traditional product pitches.

Advertainment also works best when it makes brands feel like part of the cultural conversation.

It removes the corporate polish and makes businesses seem more relatable.

On the other hand, not every brand can pull off advertainment successfully.

When brands force themselves into entertainment culture without a natural fit, it comes across as inauthentic—or worse, cringe.

Also, reach and engagement don’t necessarily mean customers.

While some brands see direct sales from viral content, others struggle to translate engagement into conversions.

Finally, there’s the risk of brand dilution.

When every post is a meme, a joke, or a pop culture reference, it can be hard to define what the brand actually stands for.

Best practices: Making advertainment work for your brand

If you’re going to lean into advertainment, follow best practices that apply to other social media marketing projects as well:

• Make it authentic. Stay true to the brand’s personality; don’t force humor.
• Keep it relevant. Tie entertainment back to your product or service.
• Engage. It’ll help reach more people, and keep the product memorable.
• Measure. Track likes and shares, monitor actual conversions.

Conclusion: Should you invest in advertainment?

Advertainment is another tool. Used wisely, it can amplify a brand and make marketing feel less like marketing.

But without strategy, it’s noise.

Before you dive in, ask yourself:

• Does this align with our brand identity?
• Will this create lasting value, or just short-term engagement?
• Can we maintain this style of content consistently?

If the answer is yes, go ahead—entertain, engage, and make your mark.

If not, there are plenty of other ways to make an impact without turning your marketing department into a comedy club.