April Fool PR Stunts

Umpf has been delivering PR stunts – including April Fools’ Day activity – for brands for more than 15 years, in the process winning four ‘PR Stunt of the Year’ awards (see more on our awards page).

Don’t be an April Fool: how to get your PR right this April Fools’ Day

4Lite Blackout Bulb April Fools Stunt Umpf

Most PR people love April Fools’ Day: a chance to flex our creativity and share playful concepts and PR stunts that might not otherwise make it over the line.

Get it right, and your brand will be remembered as fondly as spaghetti growing on trees. Get it wrong, and you risk alienating consumers and media alike – or even end up under investigation by the SEC. More on that later.

First, let’s delve into the history of the day before covering some key dos and don’ts.

PS. While there’s much debate around where the apostrophe lies, we use April Fools’ Day: because it’s 1st April is a fun occasion when we can all collectively enjoy being a little bit foolish.

Read on for:

  • What is April Fools’ Day?
  • April Fool Dos and Don’ts
  • Our eight favourite April Fools’ Day Stunts
  • Four April Fool Stunts That Went Wrong
  • Five Umpf April Fool Stunts
4Lite Blackout Bulb April Fools Stunt Umpf

What is April Fools’ Day?

There’s a long and a short version of the history of April Fools’ Day. Briefly, no one knows. Could it be that the human desire to prank one another is so innate that it convergently evolved into one silly calendar date?

If that answer doesn’t satisfy you (it didn’t us either), Britannica shares that there are a few proposed origins:

  • April Fools’ Day could’ve been inspired by festivals such as the Greco-Roman Hilaria, an occasion of rejoicing in late March, or colourful Hindu spring festival Holi.
  • When Charles IX decreed that the new year would henceforth begin on 1st January, rather than on Easter as was common, people who favoured the old ways were ‘April Fools’.
  • A 1581 poem by Flemish poet Eduard de Dene tells the tale of a servant sent on ‘foolish errands’ on 1st April.

Whatever its background, April Fools’ Day as a day of harmless frivolity has been celebrated in a recognisable form since the 1500s. In fact, in 1698, numerous Londoners purchased tickets to the ‘Annual Ceremony of Washing the Lions’ at the Tower of London on 1st April. No such ceremony existed, making Washing the Lions perhaps the earliest recorded example of an April Fools’ Day prank.

The trick was repeated on multiple occasions through the centuries, with admission tickets found dated from the 1800s.

To this day, April Fools’ Day is celebrated all over the world – and a key date in PR and marketing calendars.

April Fools’: how to make friends and (not) alienate people

Now we know how April Fools’ Day came to be, we need to talk about how to do it successfully. An impressive brand April Fool isn’t as simple as telling an impressive lie accompanied by shiny creative assets: done well, it can inspire media and enhance journalist relationships while engaging your audience. And who doesn’t want some of that? Here’s what to consider:

April Fools Dos

  1. Keep your brand personality and your audience front of mind – it’s easy to create any wild product or service for April Fools’ Day, but with some creative and strategic thinking you can have fun while reminding consumers of your key messages and USPs without panicking stakeholders.
  2. Time it right. The idea and tone of voice has to be appropriate as part of your wider marketing plan and strategy – in other words, don’t ‘announce’ a fantastical new feature and then hike subscription fees the next day IRL.
  3. Speaking of timings, plan ahead and go early. Remember noon is the cut-off for April Fools’ Day japes, and media round-ups will be planned in advance and published early in the day.
  4. It’s not just the time that matters, but also the day of the week. Keep in mind that when April Fools’ Day falls on a weekday, there are increased media opportunities while more journalists are working (vs a weekend).
  5. Align cross-platform. While PR needs to be sold in early to get a spot in journo’s round-ups, you’ll get the most bang for your buck if website, social, and newsletters are scheduled for early-doors on 1st

April Fools Don’ts

  1. Lie to journalists. The best April Fools’ Day stunts are rooted in realism, but the media you’re selling in to are not the ones you want to fool, especially in an era of fake news wariness and AI-compiled news results, as well as the sophistication of AI generation tools. Be up front from the get-go and keep them in on the fun, joining forces to realise your true aim: tickling the public. Read more on how a poorly-executed April Fool can sour media relationships when we cover Volkswagen’s 2021 stunt below.
  2. Be lazy. Investing in realistic imagery – and video, wherever possible – and crafting clever copy will make your April Fool stand out from your competitors.
  3. Lean too heavily into the make-believe. If your stunt is clearly fake, it’s not as newsworthy and your audience will scroll right past. You want to make readers double-take, so a totally unrealistic idea isn’t going to cut it.
  4. Take a negative or cutting tone. April Fools’ Day is a time for fun, out-of-the-box, and light-hearted pranks, not for taking cheap shots – and potentially ending up in reputational or legal trouble.

Eight of our favourite April Fools’ Day stunts

1. Yorkshire Tea and Heinz

When iconic breakfast brands collab, magic happens: Yorkshire Tea and Heinz’s Beanz on Toast Brew sparked conversations while highlighting the tea company’s range of flavoured brews, and the creative mock-ups were *chefs kiss*

2. Aldi’s Love Aisleland

In 2024, Aldi capitalised on the Love Island buzz with its own supermarket-themed take: Love Aisleland. A fun, topical idea, and one that you can imagine started with a joke in a brainstorm.

@aldiuk Want to find love on the aisles this summer? Checkout the market? And secure your Specialguy? It’s time to put all your eggs in our basket. 🥚 Applications are now open for the first ever season of #LoveAisleland ♬ original sound – Aldi UK

3. McDonald’s Milkshake Pots

Proving it’s paying attention to consumer behaviour – looking at you, fry dippers – McDonald’s announced sauce-size dipping pots of its milkshake flavours.

4. LEGO’s Find My Brick

One we really wish had made its way into existence: back in 2019, LEGO introduced a new tool: Find My Brick, which would use your phone camera to identify particular sizes and shapes in a pile of mixed bricks.

5. Duolingo Air

Taking cultural education one step further, Duolingo announced Duolingo Air, which would offer in-flight Duolingo lessons so you’re ready to immerse yourself in your destination the second you land. With a nice nod to the 7m learners on its Irish course in the post, this one is very on-brand.

6. CERN discovers the Force

We love it when an organisation does something unexpected, but oddly relevant: in 2015, CERN confirmed that its researchers had found proof that the Force exists. Y’know, from Star Wars.

7 & 8. Gousto’s Floofsto and Honda’s Pet Co-Pilot

Any pet-themed prank gets points from us, but we’ll give a special nod here to Gousto’s Floofsto pet meal delivery service and Honda’s Pet Co-Pilot model.

(Need more? You can also read our previous years’ as-it-happened round-ups here.)

Four April Fool stunts that went wrong

1. Volkswagen / Voltswagen

In 2021, Volkswagen accidentally posted its April Fools’ Day press release early, which announced the vehicle manufacturer was changing its name to ‘Voltswagen’ to highlight its commitment to electric vehicles. When journalists began enquiring about the rebrand, Volkswagen stuck to its story and insisted the update was real. But, of course, it wasn’t, and the media didn’t take kindly to being deliberately deceived. The Associated Press issued a statement making it clear that reporters were “repeatedly assured by Volkswagen that its U.S. subsidiary planned a name change, and reported that information, which we now know to be false”, and an investigation was even reportedly opened by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), looking into how the prank affected stock prices and if it broke any securities laws. Yikes.

Voltswagen-Volkswagen-April-Fool-Stunt

2. Dihydrogen monoxide panic

Remember what we said about keeping your audience in mind? That advice might’ve helped two well-intentioned Florida radio DJs who announced on-air that the local water supply had been found to contain ‘dihydrogen monoxide’, causing sweating, urination and pruning of the skin. If you retained some high school chemistry knowledge, you’ll know that dihydrogen monoxide is another way of saying H2O – a.k.a. good ol’ tap water. Residents immediately began flooding (nice) their local utility company with calls, with a public information officer for the local Department of Health pointing out that it’s a felony to call in a false water quality issue. The DJs were suspended indefinitely.

Dihydrogen-monoxide-radio-DJ-April-Fool

3. Hooters’ Toyota mishap

American chain Hooters hosted an internal competition in 2001, offering a brand new Toyota to the waitress who sold the most beer. The winner was triumphantly led to the parking lot to receive her prize… where she was handed a ‘toy Yoda’. Yoda, from Star Wars. She went on to sue Hooters, reaching an undisclosed settlement.

Hooters-Toyota-Toy-Yoda-April-Fool

4. Tesla’s (fake) bankruptcy

How much damage can one flippant tweet do? In 2018, Elon Musk jokingly shared that Tesla had gone “completely and totally bankrupt” – perhaps inspired by the brand’s financial struggles at the time. The prank hit a bit too close to home, leading to furious investors and a 7% drop in Tesla’s stock price.

Five Umpf April Fool Stunts

Umpf has been creating and delivering fun and creative PR stunts, including April Fools’ Day activity, for our clients for more than 15 years – winning us a few awards along the way. Read more about those on our awards page.

Here are five of our very own April Fools’ Day PR activities from years gone by:

1. Google Canoodle

One of Umpf’s first April Fool stunts remains one of our favourites. Back in 2010, when Google Street View was just a few years old, we came up with the idea that Google was launching a new service mapping river views using a camera mounted on a canoe – we called it Google Canoodle and we worked with The Guardian on the planned story. Google actually launched River View 16 months later when it mapped the Amazon. You can read more about Umpf’s stunt here.

Google-Canoodle-April-Fool-Stunt

2. Keepmoat Hot Tea Taps

This is one that, as keen tea drinkers, we wished was true – we launched taps that provided hot tea ‘on tap’ in the kitchens of new homes by housebuilder Keepmoat. Later revealed to be an April Fool’s joke, we secured national coverage in The Sun, MailOnline, The Independent, and i Paper

Keepmoat-Homes-April-Fool-Tea-Tap-PR-Coverage

3. Flock & Roll

Back in 2019 we announced that music naturally increased sheep’s lanolin production, resulting in a thicker, more luxurious wool for Yorkshire bed-maker Harrison Spinks. We said that the company, which owns a 300-acre farm producing its own natural bedding materials, had worked out that playing music to its flock helped create a more sumptuous filling for its mattresses. Here’s the content we created which landed us a broadcast piece on BBC.

4. Park & Zorb

Driving is out-dated and public transport is packed, so back in 2015 we worked with online leisure deals brand LivingSocial to create this photo-led prank. Billed as a fun and healthy way to get to work – while highlighting the brand’s wide range of experiences available – the Park & Zorb stations secured coverage in the Daily Mirror, Daily Telegraph, Huffington Post, City AM, and dozens of regional publications.

Living-Social-April-Fool-PR-Stunt-Press-Image

5. The Black-Out Bulb and an Anti-Dad Remote

For lighting brand, 4lite, we’ve had two stand out April Fool’s jokes that landed us a chuckle and national coverage. The 4lite black-out bulb that was designed to eliminate all natural light, giving day sleepers the chance to enjoy a deep and uninterrupted rest. A favourite with journalist Tom Edison, who covered the launch in a whopping half-page print piece in the Express.

4Lite Blackout Bulb April Fools Stunt Umpf

Next came the ‘anti-dad remote’, a revolutionary one-touch solution designed to end the age-old battle over whether to keep the big light on or off. Families were given the power of effortlessly controlling the big light with a single click, banishing harsh lighting with ease, no matter how determined Dad is to keep it on! Blanket coverage was achieved in The Sun, The Mirror, and Daily Star.

 

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