Pringles Gets It: Why Being Seen on Viral Content Matters More Than Being Perfectly Relevant 🧐

One of the most interesting shifts in social media marketing right now is that relevance no longer means literal product relevance. It means cultural relevance. Timing. Awareness. Presence.

A recent example from Pringles shows this perfectly.

The brand commented on a viral, humorous marshmallow-cooking (satire) video, a piece of content that is only remotely related to snacks, or food marketing strategy in any traditional sense. And yet, the comment worked. It climbed to the top, earned tens of thousands of likes, and placed the Pringles brand squarely inside a moment millions of people were already paying attention to.

No promotion. No CTA. No product placement.

Just presence.

Find it here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DT6gwIEjTfv/?igsh=enRkZHB5OHRwcG9y

Why This Works (Even When It’s “Off-Topic”)

When people scroll viral content, they don’t separate brands from creators anymore. They scan the comment section for reactions, jokes, and shared emotions. That’s where attention moves next.

Pringles understood something critical: The comment section is the second feed. 👈

By reacting with humor that matched the tone of the video, the brand didn’t interrupt the moment, it enhanced it. That’s why users rewarded it with engagement instead of ignoring it like an ad.

Being contextually aligned mattered more than being topically aligned.

Visibility Beats Precision in Viral Moments!

Traditional brand thinking asks: “Is this post directly about us?”

Modern social media rewards a different question:

“Is this where attention currently lives?”

Viral content creates temporary attention hubs. Brands that show up early, even loosely connected, benefit from:

• Massive organic visibility

• Association with humor and personality

• Repeated exposure without paid placement

• Social proof from likes and replies

Pringles didn’t need a perfect fit. It needed timing.

The Real Challenge: Doing This Consistently

What looks simple on the surface is extremely hard to execute at scale.

To replicate this manually, a community team would need to:

• Monitor thousands of posts in real time

• Spot viral momentum early

• Decide whether a brand voice fits the moment

• Write something witty fast

• Compete with hundreds of other brands doing the same

Miss the timing, and the opportunity is gone.

This is why most brands only have occasional wins instead of consistent presence.

Turning Opportunistic Moments Into a System

This is exactly where Flaca Intelligence comes in.

Flaca Intelligence helps brands discover viral and fast-growing content early, even when it’s not directly about their product. It surfaces moments where attention is peaking and enables brands to engage in a way that feels native, timely, and human.

Instead of relying on manual scrolling and luck, brands can:

• Identify high-impact conversations automatically

• Engage while the post is still accelerating

• Maintain consistent visibility across platforms

• Reduce manual workload for community managers

What Pringles did instinctively can become repeatable.

Why This Belongs Next to the Ads Budget

This type of engagement isn’t random social activity. It’s a form of attention spend.

Just like ads:

• You allocate budget

• You increase presence

• You optimize for impact

The difference is that comments don’t feel like ads, and they don’t disappear when spend stops. They stay visible, circulate with the post, and continue to generate impressions organically.

That’s why brands using Flaca Intelligence treat it as a complement to paid media, not a replacement.

The Takeaway

Pringles didn’t win because the content was relevant to chips.

They won because they understood where attention was and showed up.

In today’s social landscape, brand awareness is built by being present in cultural moments, not by waiting for perfect alignment. Viral comments are one of the fastest ways to earn that presence.

With the right tools, this doesn’t have to be accidental. It can be planned, scaled, and repeated.

That’s the shift brands are starting to make.

Flaca Intelligence is built for exactly this.

👉 Turn engagement into a system, not a guessing game.

👉 Make social media engagement, explainable, and reliable.

[See how Flaca works → Talk To Us]