Fool's Gold

It’s that time of the year again when jokey journos and comically-minded communications consultants engage their prank-gland to think up the most attention grabbing April Fool’s stunt – all in the hopes of capturing the eyes and imaginations of the world (and of certain picture editors).

April Fool’s Day stretches back as far as 536BC and, as with any long-standing tradition, the world of marketing and communications are keen to use the event to engage the hearts and minds of the public. The April Fool’s news story has become a very modern tradition and shows no sign of abating.

We’ve all been reading our Sunday papers with a more cynical eye this morning as some headlines will be even more unbelievable than usual. Let us know your favourite promotional April Fool’s story and in the meantime here are a few of Morrows’ favourites from the archives:

In April 2010, BMW combined Westminster election fever with the annual prank day by announcing it was offering posh politicos the chance to customise the iconic BMW logo on their vehicle’s name badge to reflect their political persuasion.

Whether anyone took it seriously or not, it was a timely communications stunt which gained incredible coverage for the German car brand.

In the same year, Virgin Media managed to highlight its ongoing modernisation of Britain’s rural broadband network with this clever bit of animal husbandry.
According to the story these highly-trained ferrets were the secret weapon in laying fibre-optic broadband cables in underground pipes across the UK. We particularly love the “ferret at work” hazard sign.

In 1998 Burger King advertised a new addition to its menu – The Left Handed Whopper. The new product was exactly the same as the existing whopper but with all of the condiments rotated by exactly 180 degrees.Despite admitting the hoax on April 2^nd the fast food chain were still fielding enquiries from meat-loving southpaws for weeks after the USA Today ad appeared. Proof, if it were needed, that press advertising still had power?

In 2010 again – a vintage year for April Fool’s PR – ill-fated high street department store Woolworths announced the first negative calorie confectionary with its Diet Cola bottles. The popular penny sweets had been given a new twist with artificial sweeteners resulting in zero calorie content, meaning the energy required in chewing and digesting them burned more calories than they produced – finally giving sweet-toothed dieters the perfect excuse to hit the pick 'n' mix and hit it hard.



Whatever this year brings, April Fools’ stunts should always come with a warning. PR stunts in general can backfire with overtly commercial attempts gaining poor coverage and big costs for clients – but when they deliberately play with the gullibility of their audience a backlash can all too often result. It’s good to take creative risks...as long as they’re calculated creative risks.

But who wins best April Fool’s "PRank" this year? Virgin Volcanic and their trips to the centre of the earth? YouTube’s DVD delivery service? Who promotionally punk’d you the best?