The Scoop: Brands tap into April Fools’ Day hijinks for viral engagement

April Fools’ Day offers brands a unique opportunity to get creative, engaging customers with playful and sometimes outrageous ideas.

While pranks on April 1 are a tradition, it’s also a chance for companies to showcase their personalities and promote special deals – all with a wink.

Yahoo, for example, launched a grass-covered keyboard for “touching grass” without leaving your desk. The tech company teased the “agricultural interface” in the days building up to the jokepost.

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Though much of the fun centered on social media engagement, many brands turned the silliness into real business opportunities and earned media coverage. Omaha Steaks, for example, teased the release of a romance novel, “Certified Tender,” only to reveal it as a joke. The beef company turned the prank into a sales opportunity by offering a special deal on its “Meat Cute Collection” of steaks and wine.

“The only thing we love more than a good romance is an epic April Fools’ joke! While Meat-Cute Romance publishing was fake, ‘Certified Tender’ and the Meat-Cute Collection package are very real!” Omaha Steaks wrote in a follow-up IG post.

USA Today featured Omaha Steaks’ gag. The April Fools’ roundup also highlighted another wine-related stunt, this one a collaboration between wine brand Josh Cellars and Joss & Main, a furniture retailer. The partners pretended to launch a collection of couches and chairs designed to “embrace inevitable red wine spills” with merlot-colored stains already on the furniture. .

The campaign generated extensive news coverage, including a spot in the Daily Mail, and garnered significant social media attention, racking up more likes and comments on Instagram than their typical posts.

While many advertisements were aimed at generating fun, others provided potential market research. The New York Times reported that Cadbury created a fake product that people seemed to genuinely want: Creme Egg on the Goo, a to-go packet of Creme Egg filling.

“Move over boring condiments,” reads the social media post, which features a video of the goo being squeezed onto French fries. The comments section flooded with people saying they’d love to use the product on other foods, but maybe not fries.

However, an April Fools’ campaign can also backfire. For instance, Lipton Ice Tea announced on March 31 that it was discontinuing its beloved peach iced tea. Less than a day later, the brand revealed it was a joke.

While some took it in stride, jokingly demanding compensation for emotional distress, not all fans saw the follow-up post, and some may have thought one of their favorite products was gone for good.

Lipton ended up on at least one list of April Fools’ brand fails as a result.

Beyond the tricks, some brands offered treats, like Popeyes, which launched its (real) “Pickle Menu” on April Fools’ Day, featuring items like a pickle-glazed sandwich and pickle lemonade.

While most of these promotions brought laughs, it’s important to remember that social media feeds are unpredictable and there’s no guarantee that everyone will see the follow-up “It’s just a joke” message and missteps can risk alienating loyal customers.

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Casey Weldon is a reporter for PR Daily. Follow him on LinkedIn.