The complexity and seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a varying impact on the annual day for pranks this year.
Last year, April Fools Day was a damp squib. Shocked by lockdown and its repercussions, no one was in the mood for a joke. This year, however, we are a mixed bag – some think it is too soon to laugh at ridiculous news while others feel we could do with celebrating silliness to help lighten the load.
This last year – possibly longer if we look at the emergence of ‘fake news’ – has made us question our understanding of reality and our ability to take a joke. As Seth Godin notes in his blog, in previous years, 1 April was a day when we were ‘supposed to be aware that everything was as it seemed, that we should be on our guard. And now, exhausting as it is, every day is like that’.
1 April 2021 is in limbo.
Despite the uncertainty, some brands and organisations have embraced April Fools Day this year and grasped the opportunity to inject some humour into our lives.
Announcements of product launches, like Frankie & Benny’s meatball bath bombs and Burger King’s Chocolate Whopper and fake news stories such as this one about a party for hospitality at Buckingham Palace, have kept us amused.
Whatever your thoughts on April Fools Day, in normal times, pranking on April 1st can be an effective way to build your brand’s profile and grab some column inches with the right campaign.
Here the Custard team highlights their favourite campaigns from April Fools Days gone by.
Lesley, account director: Yorkshire Water’s Diet Tap Water
“Yorkshire Water’s launch of ‘diet tap water’ back in 2004 remains one of my favourite April Fools stunts. With a budget of reportedly just £300 and implemented as part of the company’s annual Quality Water Campaign, their in-house team managed to convince over 10,000 people to contact their call centre for more information on a fictitious product that could amazingly help customers lose weight.
“To give the prank authenticity, they plumed a third ‘magical’ tap into a show home kindly loaned by a local housing developer where the pretend ‘homeowners’ credited their fantastic weight loss on the organisation’s revolutionary negatively charged water, which attracted fat cells when drunk.
“Loving the creativity of the idea, GMTV sent a film crew and dedicated 45 minutes of their three-hour programme to the prank, featuring it further on Lorraine Kelly’s later segment of their breakfast schedule. Also, in on the act was the local ITV news programme and the Yorkshire Evening Post.
“The April Fool was so plausible that two national newspapers as well as a documentary production company contacted Yorkshire Water’s press office for more information! And, the following morning GMTV revealed to viewers it was a prank in three further subsequent pieces.
“With competition high and millions spent on other soft drinks, there is little doubt that the UK’s high-quality tap water and Yorkshire Water could have gained such cut through and mainstream coverage without this creative PR stunt.”
Emma, account manager: Costa’s Costa & Kip
“The April Fools Day campaign that stands out the most to me, is Costa’s ‘Costa & Kip’, mainly because it really did fool a number of people.
“The coffee chain claimed on 1 April 2015 that it was trialling a new service across its stores, which required sleep-deprived customers to find themselves a table, stick a pillow contraption on their heads and take a short afternoon nap before being ‘gently nudged back into consciousness by a friendly barista’ delivering coffee they’d ordered before their sleep.
“News of this launch was accompanied by microsite featuring a video explaining the thought process behind the scheme – customers often need a caffeine boost to get them through the afternoon slump, so why not indulge them further? – and shots of a customer wearing a Japanese-inspired ostrich pillow (it looked more like a stuffed turkey in all honesty).
“It sounds ridiculous now, but despite it being announced the day before April Fools Day 2015, many people believed the prank, claiming on social media that they’d love to know which stores were trialling the scheme and sharing the microsite far and wide.
“Costa clearly spent a lot of money on the campaign, but I think it was genius. It helped the coffee chain grab some column inches at a time when the coffee shop market was becoming saturated and there was a need to stand out from the crowd, plus they tempted us with the precious chance to catch some zzzs during a busy day – we’re all going to be interested in that!”
Georgia, head of marketing: Amazon’s Petlex
“When I thought back to all of my favourite April Fools Day campaigns, they all included animals – Google Play’s pet games, Petco’s pet and owner makeovers or Amazon’s three-second Audible for Fish. However, Amazon’s 2017 Petlexa campaign claims the top prize.
“Utilising a fully integrated campaign that spanned media coverage, social media and advertising, Amazon launched ‘Petlexa’, a new feature available on all smart speaker products running its Alexa assistance. According to the retail giant’s campaign, the Petlexa feature would allow dogs, cats and other household pets to communicate with the voice-enabled AI virtual assistant just like human consumers do.
“There are several reasons why I felt this campaign worked. Firstly, the announcement of Petlexa was timely and hinged on the fact that many consumers were starting to utilise AI voice search and wearable technology on a daily basis. The overarching theme of ‘get the whole house talking’ provided a fun narrative to the content and appealed to both adults and kids alike. While it was clearly positioned as a joke, the campaign was completely on-brand and showcased the broad range of features the Amazon smart technology had available without you feeling like you were being sold to.”
You can watch the Petlexa campaign video here.
Petra, founder and CEO: Virgin Sing–along
“Who doesn’t love a bit of karaoke and a sing–along, especially flying miles high in the sky.
“I have so many great AFD favourites but loved this 2019 campaign at a time when sing-alongs were trending so it’s no surprise Virgin grabbed the opportunity to head back to their musical origins with the sing-along prank.
“The launch of the Virgin sing-along flights on key routes hinged on passengers being able to join the crew for some in-flight karaoke shortly after take–off.
“Even more hilariously they extended this to include Saturday Night Cabin Fever discos on weekend flights, mile-high hip hop from London to LA and for the crooners, non-stop Sinatra on flights to New York.
“I love a lot of what Virgin do as they try to create campaigns with bags of personality and a fresh approach to consumer engagement. This didn’t do any damage to the brand but instead reinforced their origins and connected with the audience through a love of music. In my opinion, why the hell wouldn’t you have sing–along flights anyway?”
Petra, founder and CEO: Pip N Nut
“A teeny tiny peanut butter jar for your keyring
“This is one I really wish was real. An introduction of a teeny tiny 10g peanut butter jar – perfect to pop on your keyring and carry around for a quick spoonful of the lovely stuff. They used this campaign to reinforce how much everyone loves peanut butter and the perks of working from home and having access 24/7 to the jar in the cupboard. Okay, I know not everyone loves PB, but most people with taste do!
“They also talk about how we sneak in that extra spoonful so it really connects with the habits of the consumer. They linked the campaign to easing out of lockdown and having your favourite PB with you wherever you go. Plus they urged everyone to order quickly to get their complimentary teeny tiny spoon!
“They swiftly owned up to the prank and asked for more ideas for product development – another engagement opp. Plus included a quick reminder of all the tasty nutty varieties available in their 400g jar. Mouthwateringly clever, quick and relevant.”
As specialists in hospitality marketing and PR, we have extensive experience in developing brave, inspiring and results-driven campaigns. To find out more about how we can support you in engaging with your target audience and increasing your market position, please contact a member of our team.
