From M&S to Duolingo: banter between brands on social media gets people buying – but there’s a catch

Zoe Lee, Reader (Associate Professor) in Marketing, Cardiff University, Denitsa Dineva
Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Marketing and Strategy, Cardiff University, Federico Mangiò, Assistant Professor, Università degli Studi di Bergamo

The line between entertainment and advertising is increasingly blurred thanks to social media. People no longer just consume content, they experience it – laughing, sharing and commenting. And brands have caught on.

The days when people sat through a 30-second TV ad because they had no choice are long gone. Now they can quickly swipe past anything that feels too much like selling.

What tends to grab attention are things that feel spontaneous, real or funny. That’s where brand-to-brand banter comes in.

Instead of posting directly to consumers, brands increasingly engage with each other. They crack jokes, offer praise and even poke fun at competitors. Brands are becoming more human in their interactions – especially with each other.

Brand “banter” doesn’t feel like an ad (even though it has a commercial purpose). It can feel unscripted, human and weirdly fun, cutting through in a way traditional advertising can’t.

Our research shows that consumers are more likely to notice and engage with these interactions. The content feels less like marketing and more like shared digital culture. It can feel unexpected and entertaining, and invites audiences into a “moment”.

Emotional hook

Humour, especially online, is a powerful emotional hook. It invites people to share the content – great news if you have a product to sell. In a noisy digital world where brands compete for eyeballs, humour helps to get people’s attention.

But it also fosters emotional connection, and can make brands feel human-like to consumers. When we see brands behaving playfully or being especially complimentary towards each other, our research shows they are more like to engage and remember them. It turns passive scrolling into active participation.

A good example is the Duolingo Death meme. The brand’s chaotic cartoon owl faked its death on Instagram and the result was viral engagement.

The post was liked by more than 2.1 million people. Other brands such as Walmart, FedEx, Kellogg’s and Five Guys joined in. Even pop star Dua Lipa paid tribute on X. What felt like spontaneous chaos was actually a smart, strategic move that tapped into meme culture, humour and community trends.

an important message from Duolingo pic.twitter.com/jTTT680yVs

— Duolingo (@duolingo) February 11, 2025

The same can be said for the caterpillar cake battle between supermarket Aldi and Marks & Spencer. This public brand-to-brand feud over their respective cakes exploded into a public spectacle and legal action from M&S. Despite being locked in a trademark row, Aldi and M&S ribbed each other with witty social media posts.

Our social team over the weekend: pic.twitter.com/G2DEM5D6iu

— M&S (@marksandspencer) April 19, 2021

But rather than harming either brand, the playful roasting humanised them, drawing attention and affection from consumers.

In on the joke

Our research also found that when brands talk to each other, (rather than just talking at consumers), it can be an effective marketing device. These exchanges are more engaging than traditional brand-to-consumer posts because they feel unexpected and unscripted.

We found that people don’t just enjoy the interactions. They walk away with more positive feelings towards the brand and are more likely to buy from them. These interactions break the “fourth wall” of advertising and let consumers feel like they’ve been let in on a joke.

Humour often works by violating expectations. But whether consumers find something funny or awkward depends on how we interpret that violation. And there’s a catch: it needs to feel benign rather than malign.

Beef

American fast food chain Wendy’s is renowned for its sharp-witted social media presence, often engaging in playful jabs at competitors like McDonald’s. But one post, in response to McDonald’s promise to use fresh beef in all of its quarter pounders, apparently went too far.

Wendy’s posted: “So you’ll still use frozen beef in MOST of your burgers in ALL of your restaurants? Asking for a friend.” While many customers found the remark humorous, others viewed it as mean-spirited and unprofessional.

So banter – when it verges on being aggressive – can risk alienating consumers who prefer respectful brand interactions.

Of course, the line between clever and cringe-worthy is thin. When brands try too hard to be funny or provocative, they risk being perceived as inauthentic, self-serving or out-of-touch. Worse, they can alienate audiences or trivialise serious issues. The performative nature of online branding means that missteps are both public and memorable.

And brands must be self-aware. It’s crucial that they understand their brand purpose and identity, their “cool” factor, and who their real customers are.

As brands seek their place in a saturated landscape, characterised by constant content overload and fleeting consumer attention, these moments of humour and light-hearted engagement can serve as relief valves. But they’re also strategic tools. Brands are using playfulness to build emotional connection, cultural relevance and visibility in an overcrowded digital space.

So the next time a brand makes you laugh, pause and consider: Was it just a joke, or was it also a very clever move?

This article was first published on The Conversation