To fool or to be fooled, the First of April is a day to keep your wits about you.

The long-held tradition of playing practical jokes and tricking friends and family has come a long way through the years and is now a much loved (or feared for the gullible) day where the creative amongst us can cause a little mischief and bring a chuckle to those around us.

Businesses too, seeing the potential for exposure, have followed suit and treated us to some fantastic April Fool's pranks throughout the years, sometimes from the most unexpected of places.

With some brilliant creative campaigns having been created and launched on April Fool’s it is clear that businesses see the potential value of harnessing the day, but is it worth the effort or are they simply playing the fool?

The joker

April Fool’s can be seen as a wildcard for businesses, looking to inject life across their social media platforms and break out from their established norms in communicating. 

For more ‘serious’ businesses it provides a fantastic opportunity to show a more personable side to their brand and engage with existing and potential customers in ‘soft’ way. It can also be a fantastic way to attract attention and awareness through harnessing shock value such as when NASA playfully announced they had found water on Mars in 2005 with a playful picture of a cup of water on top of a Mars Bar.

For more lighthearted and creative businesses April Fool’s also presents an excellent opportunity for them to flex their creative muscles and shine a spotlight on their brand or product in a unique way. From Cadbury’s ‘silent chocolate’ with revolutionary noiseless wrappers to Airbnb’s partnership with Barbie, giving customers the opportunity to stay in life-sized Barbie dreamhouse, there have been an array of clever, imaginative and wacky April Fool’s campaigns employed by brands to cleverly start discussions and draw interest in their products.

April Fool’s can also be used for testing public mood and engaging around new possibilities. Companies can use the event to suggest a new direction or product and gain valuable insight into public interest and sentiment, experimenting with and potentially shaping future perceptions and public consciousness. Although Virgin Atlantic’s Dreambird 1417 new flight technology dubbed ‘flap energy’ with its flapping wings may be a stretch it excellently served the purpose of giving the brand attention and creating engagement around the future of air travel, positioning the brand as forward-thinking and creative.

Playing the fool

For all the cases of cleverly conceived pranks, there are an equal number that fail to hit the mark or even worse, backfire.

While Burger King certainly gained publicity over their April Fool’s offering of a special ‘left-handed’ Whopper burger, the fast food giants found they bit off more than they could chew as thousands flocked to their stores to actually try and order the imaginary burger.

This is but a drop in the ocean compared to the disastrous result of tech mogul Elon Musk’s prank gone wrong. Posting on X, Musk jokingly said that despite last-minute fundraising attempts selling easter eggs his company Tesla was going bankrupt. Despite the somewhat obvious tongue-in-cheek post, this was enough to scare investors in the company and wipe 5% off the share price overnight.

These are of course dramatic and high-profile examples, for most it is simply a case that the joke lands flat or customers fail to get the intended humour, leaving the brand looking foolish. It is clear though care is needed when deciding whether to dabble in April mischief and that pranks must be thoughtfully created to ensure there are no unintended consequences.

This then raises the question, why take the risk?

Why do businesses stick their neck out?

While the risk involved in getting it wrong can be daunting and put some off those unsure of how to effectively capture the right balance between joke and effective message, April Fool’s remains an excellent tool for businesses to burst their brand into the spotlight and spark their social media into life with colourful content. 

Gaining the opportunity to engage and interact with your community and eliciting an emotional response (hopefully, either shock or comedic!) is a valuable tool in any company's arsenal. Connecting with your audience and generating a buzz and conversation is one of the best ways to gain brand awareness and attention. This can create both organic reach across social media and place your brand and product in the public consciousness.

The ability to change up the regular flow of your communications and freshen up from the norm of your audience's expectations is a powerful tool and can be utilised as a catalyst by businesses to pivot, launch new campaigns or show contrast.

From an internal perspective, too April Fool’s can help a business have a little fun with its employees and help to enlighten their imagination.

Comedic timing

As with all things mischievous and comedic, the delivery is crucial.

Clearly understanding your market and shaping your messaging to your customer's expectations (or subverting them) allows you to craft an authentic and original message that delivers upon the premise of mischief.

As all great comics know, without timing a good joke is worthless, so either getting it out early before people wizen to the date or late enough that everyone is aware and can laugh with your silliness is an important part of your decision. Or for the truly talented, you make your own timing.

Indeed, as highlighted by Guinness and their brilliant Guinness Clear (water) campaign launched in February 2019, a clever tongue-in-cheek campaign can always hit the mark if delivered well.

We are eagerly awaiting to see what inspired mischief unfolds this year!

Looking for a creative spark for your business? Get in touch today!

Sources:

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/april-fools-day

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/150331-april-fools-day-hoax-prank-history-holiday

https://www.guinness.com/en-gb/beers/guinness-clear-responsible-drinking

https://www.virgin.com/branson-family/richard-branson-blog/april-fools-day