Brain Rot, Gamification, Crowdsourcing and The Labubu Fad

Forbes

2 days ago

PARIS, FRANCE - MARCH 08: A guest wears brown coat, white blouse, orange Hermes bag with a bag charm ... More brown Labubu monster, grey pants outside the Hermes fashion show during the Womenswear Fall/Winter 2025/2026 as part of Paris Fashion Week on March 08, 2025 in Paris, France. (Photo by)
From the iPhone to the Birkin bag, marketing is replete with examples of must have accessories that spark a buying frenzy. In 2025, the fad collectible is a Labubu. Labubus are little plush monster toys, made by Chinese manufacturer Popmart, specifically marked at adults. While the Labubus may seem like yet another fad, there are important lessons about the interconnectedness of brain rot marketing, gamification and crowdsourcing that impact how we shop and live.
Storytelling and Brain Rot Marketing
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - DECEMBER 2: A man holds a phone, displaying word of ''brain rot'', as the ... More Oxford Dictionary has chosen the word, which refers to the unnecessary and entertaining use of social media, as the word of the year in London, United Kingdom on December 2, 2024. (Photo by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Oxford English Dictionary defined 'Brain rot' as the supposed deterioration of a person's mental or intellectual state, as a result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Generative AI tools make it easy to create content such as memes that are designed to go viral. Labubu with its limited time drops and blind boxes taps into the phenomenon of brain rot marketing, especially by appealing to the elements of surprise and scarcity. The popularity of such brainrot content has sparked concerns from marketers about AI generated slop drowning out legitimate marketing campaigns and even leading to a brand safety crisis. But as the Labubu craze shows, companies can tap into the power of storytelling and cultivating an authentic brand identity.
Labubus are sold in a blind box, so consumers don't know what they get till they open the box. With celebrities and pop culture icons showcasing their Labubu collections on social media, Labubu has become a cult toy especially with Gen Z. PopMart has very few retail locations in the US and toys are sold out very quickly online. Fans obsessively track PopMart's limited time 'drops' or online releases as well as PopMart's livestreams on TikTok. Consumers are also relying on social media platforms such as Reddit to get advice on where to buy Labubus and be a part of the community. Each Labubu is part of a collection, so it is naturally limited or unique. This gives consumers a sense of connection when they open one.
Critical to Labubu's appeal is that the product itself is viral. The unboxing format is designed for TikTok's algorithm, i.e., to maximize engagement. Short, suspenseful videos with clear emotional payoffs (surprise, disappointment, excitement) are known to generate higher engagement rates. There are thousands of TikTok videos that mention Labubus, with users showing off their collections, unboxing experiences, and styling their Labubus as fashion accessories. Since each toy is a collectible, each unboxing experience is designed to go viral. This is an important lesson to leaders that engineering virality as part of product design may be more effective in peer-to-peer promotion than making a product first and coming up with a marketing strategy later approach.
Gamification
PopMart has gamified the shopping experience – creating the anticipation, building a community of loyal users and encouraging repeat purchases – but the manner in which they do so offers lessons for leaders. The blind box marketing creates a lottery-like experience where buyers don't know which variant of the Labubu they are likely to receive. The psychological principle - variable ratio reinforcement –is similar to the reward reinforcement mechanism underlying slot machines. The toys are released in series with multiple variants, colors, and limited editions. Consumers can feel compelled to buy more Labubus to complete a collection.
PopMart seems to have grasped the intersection between gamification and virality. The blind box model transforms shopping into gambling, but more importantly, it makes the purchase itself into shareable content. Every unboxing becomes potential viral material, turning customers into unpaid marketing agents. The randomness means there's always a chance of hitting the jackpot variant that generates massive views.
The important lesson for leaders is to understand the virtuous cycle of engagement and how to create multiple levels of engagement. Some consumers are casual buyers, while others are dedicated to the brand. The Labubu blind box and gamified experience creates separate categories of dedicated collectors, traders, and community members who help others in their quest to find a Labubu. This in turn transforms individual shopping into collaborative experiences.
Marketers and leaders have long grappled with how to encourage community participation, leaderboards that foster friendly competition, and exclusive access levels that members can unlock together. PopMart is a great example of a positive feedback loop where increased customer interaction leads to strengthening community participation. The layering of engagement types is also a pointer to leaders that they should think beyond individual transactions and consider how their products can facilitate social connections, shared experiences, and user-generated content.
Crowdsourcing
SPAIN - 2022/11/29: In this photo illustration, the Reddit social media App seen displayed on a ... More smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Davide Bonaldo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Though these collectibles Initially acquired popularity through influencers on TikTok, the hype is also sustained by the communities of users that help each other discover where to buy Labubus. This is an important lesson to leaders about how online communities can provide emotional support and connection.
Increasingly, people turn to platforms like Reddit, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, etc. for advice about almost every aspect of life. Labubu collecting has spawned online communities where people share hauls, trade items, and discuss strategies. These communities create belonging and shared identity around the collecting activity, making it more engaging than solitary consumption. The rarity system also enables a robust trading ecosystem. Collectors engage in complex exchanges, negotiations, and marketplace activities that feel game-like. Hunting for deals or trading duplicates adds strategic elements beyond simple purchasing. Labubu demonstrates Reddit's unique power as a platform for creating sustained communities of users. On the Reddit community r/Labubu — which has 92,000 members — fans not only share photos of their collections, but they also trade tips and tricks about how to snag the elusive dolls for themselves.
Three Lessons for Leaders
Labubu's success in leveraging brainrot marketing, crowdsourcing and gamification offers three lessons for leaders: