Brain rot, AI slop & doomscrolling: how brands win in the attention economy

In this episode, Contagious investigates what happens when content supply completely outstrips human attention, and how brands can win in a world dominated by infinite scroll, clip farms, AI slop and algorithmic overload. Along the way, we’ll explore why Universe 25’s infamous rodent utopia experiments feel eerily relevant to modern media, why today’s attention panic may simply be history repeating itself, and why the real problem might not be shrinking attention spans but a zero tolerance reaction to boring content. We’ll explain: How brands cut through in a world of infinite noise The rise of workslop and clip-farm culture Why repetition, memes and cultural ad stock drive effectiveness How TV became a mood light for distracted audiences The difference between delivered abundance and accessible abundance Why choice paralysis is becoming a major media problem Why craftsmanship and human creativity still break through online How a TikTok witch helped create cultural impact for an underwear brand If you work in marketing, you should almost definitely subscribe to Contagious IQ - an intelligence platform that helps brands and agencies supercharge their creativity by learning from the world's most impactful brands, campaigns and trends.