Fighting brain rot with more brain rot? BookXcess wants to get Gen Z reading again

In an era where “brain rot” has become shorthand for endless doomscrolling and shrinking attention spans, BookXcess is attempting something counterintuitive: using the very format causing the problem to fix it.

In collaboration with Grey Malaysia, the bookstore chain has launched “The Brain Un-Rot Library”, a campaign designed to reverse engineer the effects of short-form content by turning TikTok and Reels into gateways back to books. The creative agency was brought on specifically for this project, underscoring the experimental and targeted nature of the initiative.

Rather than fighting for attention outside the feed, the campaign meets Gen Z and Gen Alpha where they already are, reworking familiar short-form video formats into bite-sized literary content that gradually builds toward longer, more immersive reading.

“Instead of just telling the world they need to read more, we’re Trojan-horsing brain rot and using it against itself,” said Graham Drew, chief creative officer at Ogilvy Group Malaysia. “We’re replacing meaningless reads with retellings of the world’s best stories in a Gen Z tone of voice that hooks people with sensational cliffhangers.”

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The campaign features 100 curated titles rolled out across March and April, spanning literary classics such as “Animal Farm”, “1984” and “Wuthering Heights”, alongside contemporary #BookTok favourites including “The Hunger Games” and “Foul Lady Fortune”. More than 50 videos are already live, with new content released daily until all 100 titles are covered.

Each title is reinterpreted using fast cuts, humour and culturally relevant language, mimicking the structure of viral content while subtly increasing narrative depth over time. The approach is intentionally habit-forming, designed to retrain attention spans by progressively extending the length and richness of text. The curation itself was a collaboration between Grey and BookXcess, blending school syllabus staples with trending titles from BookTok to ensure both relevance and familiarity.

The goal, according to the team, is to guide audiences from fleeting 30-second scrolls back into sustained engagement with full-length books.

“It’s been a personal odyssey,” Drew added. “For ages I saw brain rot second-hand and dismissed it as random content, but the more we studied it, the more we realised there are sophisticated tropes and formulas, like an earworm in a pop song. We identified formats like ‘Reddit storytime’ as something we could reverse engineer," he told A+M exclusively. 

The campaign also extends beyond digital into physical retail spaces. At The Library by BookXcess, located in Sunway University, as well as across selected outlets nationwide, the brand is introducing “Brain Un-Rot Islands”, dedicated zones where readers can explore featured titles and reconnect with reading in a more tactile way.

“BookXcess stores are already highly experiential spaces,” Drew explained. “The more time you spend there, surrounded by stories, the more likely you are to pick up a book. While e-commerce is frictionless, getting people into stores is an even stronger hook.”

For BookXcess, the initiative is rooted in a growing concern around the impact of declining attention spans on younger audiences.

“One thing that really concerns me is how easily the younger generation loses focus after just a short while, even when they are genuinely interested in something,” said Jacqueline Ng, co-founder and executive director of BookXcess. “Attention and mental health are closely connected, and this could affect them in their education and daily lives.”

She added that the campaign is part of a broader effort to support young readers in rebuilding focus. “The Brain Un-Rot Library is our way of helping them slowly build back the ability to focus and enjoy reading again.”

For now, the campaign is running organically, with content driving its own momentum. “We’ve already had interest from influencers reaching out,” Drew said. “It’ll be interesting to see how collaborations evolve as the campaign grows.”

The campaign comes at a time when attention spans are reportedly shrinking at an unprecedented rate, with studies suggesting that average digital attention has dropped from 2.5 minutes in 2004 to just 47 seconds in 2024.

It also comes at a time where governments across the world are implementing social media bans, to safeguard teens from online harm. Following in the footsteps of Australia, Malaysia is due to bar teens under 16 from signing up for social media accounts starting next year, raising the age limit from the earlier proposed threshold of 13.

The proposal arrives amid mounting concerns over cyberbullying, sexual harassment and behavioural issues among schoolchildren, often tied to early and unregulated exposure to social media.

On a similar note, a white paper by GrowthOps, "Putting the social back into social media", warned that social platforms have drifted from their original purpose of fostering genuine connection, becoming dominated by algorithms, artificial content, and commercial priorities. For marketers, the findings underscore the urgent need to rethink how brands engage audiences online.

The study highlighted a measurable decline in personal sharing. Time spent viewing friends’ posts fell from 22% to 17% on Facebook, and from 11% to 7% on Instagram, between 2023 and 2024. Original personal sharing on Facebook has been steadily declining since a 21% drop in 2015, indicating a shift toward performative posting over authentic interaction.


Be part of #Content360 Malaysia, 13 May 2026, where creativity and community collide. Explore how AI-powered imagination, culturally resonant storytelling, and platform-savvy strategies are shaping the future of content. Gain practical insights, discover new tactics, and learn how the region’s top creators and brands are crafting campaigns that truly resonate.

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