Every April, new prank stories are created; some personal, some otherwise.

The origin of April Fool’s is rather unclear. But the celebration involves a common theme – playing practical jokes on people.

To prank or not?

This is one question most brands should ask themselves. While pranking can be a really nice way to infuse humor and establish a more personal connection with your audience, poorly planned pranks can sometimes cause inconvenience or hurt cultural sentimentalities.

But that doesn’t mean that pranks cannot be successful. Here we have compiled a list of brands which executed some brilliant pranks on their customers:

1. Scoot’s in-flight Yoga

If there’s a campaign which truly lives up to the April Fool’s vibe, it is Scoot’s in-flight Yoga.

Scoot decided to resolve the pain of ‘leg space’ by offering in-flight yoga classes to those who love a good stretch during the flight. Scoot’s Yoga Zone claimed to offer 38” leg room to allow passengers to do a full body workout while on the way to their destination.

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As an add-on, Scoot also offered to ramp up a part of the cabin to 40,6 degrees celsius to mimic the temperature of a yoga studio’s hot room.

2. Youtube’s winner video

Back in 2013, Youtube announced a contest for the best video. But there was a catch.

Youtube declared that it would not allow any new entries and pick one video from the existing pool as the winner and delete everything else.  And that the site will now be back online in 2023.

In their prank video, Youtube’s (now former) CEO says, “We started Youtube in 2005 with a simple goal: to find the best video in the world”.

This prank wins because it uses influential people to make the whole thing seem serious, even when it is not.

The video has garnered more than 11 million views till date.

3. Blue Moon’s beer infused oranges

Blue Moon Brewing Co made our beer fantasies true, at least for a while.

In 2015, Blue Moon announced a beer breakthrough. In a Twitter post, they announced the launch of beer-infused oranges. It meant that we no longer had to slice an orange and put it in our beer. All we needed to buy was this beery orange.

But this joke ended  soon and created some fools on the way.

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4. Spykar’s ‘Jean-ius’ series

Pranking took an all new avatar with Spykar’s Jean-ius approach. Spykar hoaxed the launch of a new jeans with pocket-charging, anti-tear and most importantly, zip-up reminder capabilities.

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This prank came with the option of pre-order which took users to a page they had specially customised for the April Fool’s day.

But Spykar utilised the opportunity by rewarding the users who registered for this series.

Jean-ius move, Spykar!

5. Qantas’ lost U

There are pranks that engage with humor. And then there are pranks which utilise humor to create awareness.

Qantas, an Australian airline company, announced on Twitter, in 2015, that they will be adding a U to “Qantas” to resolve the spelling errors and acknowledge all their passengers worldwide.

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With this lighthearted joke on April Fool’s, they also managed to address the spelling issue around their name. What they did is something that made them memorable.

6. Petco’s Pet Selfie Stick

In their brilliantly crafted April Fool’s campaign, Petco utilised the selfie trend and announced the launch of pet selfie sticks. The announcement came with another surprise: “Get a free cat selfie stick for the purchase of a dog selfie stick!” (who wouldn’t want that?)

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This prank is amazing in more than one way. Not only does it tap into the selfie fad, it also engages because of the visual appeal.

Closing thoughts

Pranks, because of their very nature, are memorable. But the trick is to create a positive memory. And that’s where brands should focus. It is crucial to restrict the pranks to lighthearted humor and not mislead the audience.

So what’s your April Fool’s mood? Tell us in the comment section below.

By: Deepasha Kakkar

Deepasha is a visual marketer, founder of Crackitt, and consumer behaviour aficionado. She helps businesses & organisations hone their identities, craft their brands, and share their truths using beautiful handmade animated videos and compelling infographics.