Weekly Marketing Roundup: April Fools Edition | 2-minute read
Hey there, and welcome back to your weekly marketing round-up! 🎉
This week, we’re throwing a little twist into the mix with a special April Fools edition. We’ve rounded up the best (and boldest) April Fools campaigns we saw this week, and trust us, they do not disappoint.
While some brands are all about keeping it safe and playing it cool, others love to stir the pot and make a bit of noise. This week, we’re shining a spotlight on the campaigns that grabbed our attention and left an impact.
Here’s the deal- just because there’s a national day or a celebration doesn’t mean you have to hop on the bandwagon.
April Fools should be bold, obvious, and, most importantly, engaging. Recently, we’ve seen a few brands try to pull the whole “we’re discontinuing your favourite product” stunt. But guess what? None of those were even remotely close to being bold, obvious, or engaging.
Don’t worry though, we’ve got some prime examples coming up of brands that absolutely nailed it when it comes to April Fools on social.
Heinz dropped Dubai Beanz. Yep, you heard that right. Classic beans in a premium pistachio-flavour sauce. Inspired by the current obsession with Dubai chocolate and the nation’s newfound love for all things pistachio, Heinz knew what they were doing.
Why it worked:
Let’s be real, it’s so obviously an April Fools prank. Sure, Heinz has played with flavours before, but pistachio beans? Come on.
But here’s the thing, they didn’t just jump on the bandwagon. They took that viral Dubai chocolate craze, spun it, and made it uniquely theirs.
Innocent had clearly had enough of the endless complaints about their kids’ smoothies being, well, for kids. So, what did they do? They made smoothies for adults. Same flavour, just… adult-sized. Yep, you read that right. Innocent’s April Fools prank was a full-on life-size adult carton of smoothie.
Why it worked:
Again, it’s blatantly an April Fools joke. Who in their right mind needs (or even wants) an adult-sized smoothie? And seriously, how would the logistics even work?
But the genius part is that it’s playful and comes from a real place of customer frustration. They’re making light of something they know customers are always asking about, and they’re doing it in true Innocent fashion. No harm, just a little laugh.
Inspired by the legendary Dyson Airwrap, Dyson’s latest creation, the Airbrow, has been shrunk down to shape and sculpt your brows. Yep, you heard right – a tiny device for all eyebrow types. Dyson went all in on this prank with a seriously polished advert, complete with influencers like Victoria Magrath getting involved.
Why it worked:
It stayed 100% on-brand. Even though this was all in good fun, Dyson didn’t just throw any random joke out there. They kept it true to their signature style. Plus, featuring regular influencer partners who are always front and centre for Dyson? A great move to make customers believe this could be real, even if it’s just a prank.
While we’re not saying you should make your customers believe something isn’t real, sometimes April Fools is the perfect excuse for brands to test the waters. Case in point: Laylo, the premium wine brand.
For one April Fools, they launched the Pocket Laylo, their bestselling wine in 200ml cans instead of the usual boxes. The response was wild, and that got the brand thinking.
Fast forward, and what started as a prank has become a reality. While the final product isn’t an exact copy of the prank packaging, Laylo now offers their wine in convenient cans.
So, don’t be afraid to get creative, who knows what could happen?
Have we missed a campaign you saw and loved, let us know!