April Fools’ Day is a yearly tradition when brands and marketers get on the fun wagon and flood social media with a truckload of jokes, memes, and original mischief.
From fake product launches to outrageous promotions, April Fools’ Day marketing campaigns have become a staple in the marketing calendar. Consumers eagerly anticipate the hilarity and surprise that brands have in store for them.
In this edition of Cool Gai, we’ll take you through the wild and wacky world of April Fools' Day campaigns, where brands unleash their creativity and sense of humour to capture the attention of their audience.
Domino’s pizza aaye free
Domino's India, renowned for its pizza deliveries, served up a side of humour on April Fools' Day with a cheeky tweet. The tweet featured a mouth-watering poster of delectable pizzas, with a headline announcing a ‘Treat Alert!’
Domino's was apparently giving away unlimited pizzas, but there was a catch - fans had to crack the code hidden within the poster. However, the code was pure comedy gold - ‘Available only on April 31st at 2:65 PM.’
The poster ultimately clarifies that it was all just an April Fools' joke. Domino's India's playful tweet perfectly captured the brand's sense of humour and connected seamlessly with its young target audience.
McNugget Boot - food & fashion gets delicious
McDonald's UK had some fun on April Fools' Day by unleashing their inner fashionista with a tweet that showcased a new product: ‘The McNugget Boot’. This outrageous fashion statement featured images of McNuggets moulded into a boot shape, with the announcement that the boots would be released exclusively through the McDonald’s app on Monday.
The tweet was a playful take on the quirkiness of April Fools' pranks, leaving followers in awe of the brand's sense of humour. McDonald's UK showed that even fast food chains could have a sense of style, making for a highly entertaining social media post.
If we delve into behavioural science, April Fools’ campaigns are more impactful because brands use humour and fun to deliver their message. Various theories exist regarding the 'humour effect', which proves humans are more likely to remember quirky and humorous things.
Amazon’s Petlexa and how to talk to your pets
Have you ever wished that you could have a conversation with your beloved animal companions? Despite our best efforts, we have yet to establish a reliable means of communication with them… or have we?
In 2017, Amazon unveiled a new product called ‘Petlexa’, based on their popular Echo device. With Petlexa, your furry friends can easily express their wants and needs, and the device will assist in fulfilling them.
We couldn't help but hope that this breakthrough in pet-human communication was more than just an elaborate April Fools' prank.
The delicious Chocolate Whopper
We all love chocolates, and we all love Burger King’s Whopper… so why not combine the two?
Well… maybe we shouldn’t!
In 2018, Burger King made a convincing ad introducing the Chocolate Whopper. To put it lightly, it got some ‘mixed’ reactions.
But it achieved what it set out to do and saw a 22% increase in brand awareness.
This was not the first time Burget King created a successful April Fools’ campaign; in 2017, their ‘Whopper Toothpaste’ was very successful on Facebook with 26,300 engagements (13,000 likes + 4,600 comments + 8,700 shares) and a total engagement rate of 27.79%.
It is important to keep in mind that humour alone cannot make an April Fools’ Day campaign successful. Brands must also consider the following:
- Relevance of their campaign to their audience.
- The timing and execution of the campaign.
- The platform they use to promote their campaign.
Ah-em!
When driving, we all honk and get honked at. What if there was a more polite and effective way to get it done?
Canadians are known for their politeness, so it was fitting that Honda Canada created the ‘Polite Horn’ ad. The concept was simple, instead of a loud, blaring noise, you will get to assert your position with a simple “Ah-em!”
Watch the video, it will give you a case of the giggles!
Kingfisher’s beer sachet
Never say no to beer! But beer can be bulky and difficult to carry, so how do you make beer a truly ‘anytime, anywhere’? Instant beer sachets!
Kingfisher's compelling advertisement presents this idea so convincingly that it leaves us longing for its non-existent reality.
I guess we’ll have to keep carrying our beer.
Durex has competition!
Look out, Durex! There is a new kid on the block! Jimmy’s Cocktails are known for their… Cocktails. But what if they wanted to broaden their horizons a bit?
That’s exactly what they seem to have done on 1st April 2023. These cocktail-flavoured condoms definitely left the audience confused and intrigued at the same time.
There are many specific days that brands get to market their products and engage with their clients and customers, we in the marketing industry call it ‘topicals’.
Topicals and moment marketing have a lot of benefits, such as:
- Allowing brands to engage with their target audience during specific events, trends or cultural moments.
- By leveraging popular or timely moments, brands can increase their visibility and strengthen their brand identity.
Social media is a key platform for moment marketing, this allows brands to create relevant and engaging content that resonates with their followers.
However, always keep in mind not to overdo it, especially with April Fools’ pranks, so it does not have an unintended effect.
So have fun, be smart and create some great content!
PS: There also are alternative ways to celebrate April, such as promoting environmental causes and making the month ‘cool’ in a positive sense.
Total 1 Comment
Archana Arora2023-04-05
Creativity knows no bounds!!!