April Fools’ Day is April 1, which this year (2022) is Friday. For businesses sending out April Fool’s Day email campaigns, it can be difficult to get the message right. plus, it really isn’t for all brands. The more blatant your brand voice, the more sense it makes to do something really over the top.
But even brands you wouldn’t normally associate with April Fools or lots of pranks can run really cool campaigns for this fool’s day.
Let’s take a look at what some brands have done and see if you too can be inspired.
1. waves gear stages a store closing prank
The April 1 email from waves gear was a bit risky, but if you read the text, you’ll quickly realize that it was an April Fool’s Day prank and the company wasn’t actually going out of business.
followed up this email with another saying they were kidding themselves, but I’m sure they gave some customers quite a scare!
2. teezy’s drunken elves joke about a celebrity collab
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your taste in fashion), Tipsy Elves isn’t collaborating with Kanye West, which became clear when you clicked through to their landing page.
but this is a great and fun way to connect with your audience through the mutual love, or not, of an influencer. after all, influencer marketing is on the rise (and working very well).
3. ironic promotion of thirdlove’s product: “dog bras“
thirdlove used April 1st as an opportunity to showcase their beautiful products and some adorable dogs. this strategy is used by many ecommerce brands (bearaby is another one!), and it can work wonders for a number of reasons:
- You can show your real product, just on an animal or something it’s not normally made for.
- People love animals, and studies show they get more clicks in the ads. and emails too (although not always for the better…)
- clean good humor is a nice respite in this day when many brands are really trying to outdo each other.
keep it simple. keep it fun keep it informed about your products.
4. tribute to politics
Politics has invaded our lives, and if this is especially true for your consumers, then a campaign like this could be for you.
The tribute copy is great because it mimics the content of a campaign letter, but once you scroll down, it’s obvious the email is about retired football quarterback bernie kosar, bernie sanders.
5. karmaloop leans towards social popularity
karmaloop’s April Fool’s email is especially good because it shows how well they know their audience. For those of you who are not familiar with Pepe the Frog, he is a popular internet meme on Instagram and Twitter. while someone you pull off the street may not get the joke, the majority of karmaloop’s audience certainly gets it.
final word
April Fools’ Day is a great time to take advantage of other national events taking place simultaneously. If you take a bit of a risk with your joke, like the waves did, just make sure your subscribers know that you are, in fact, kidding.