April Fools’ Roundup 2021: How These Brands Got it Right

What’s in this article:

• A good April Fools’ gag must be topical, self-aware, and funny, all without making consumers feel like they’re the butt of the joke
• Marketers planning for April 1, 2022 should take note of this year’s branded April Fools’ jokes

April Fools’ Day can be tough for marketers to navigate. Most brands want to get in on the fun and engage followers, but these pranks often have unintended consequences. A good April Fools’ gag must be topical, self-aware, and funny, all without making consumers feel like they’re the butt of the joke. Striking that balance is challenging, making this year’s best branded April Fools’ jokes even more impressive.

From nanotech hair dye to multilingual toilet paper, these gags capture the spirit of April Fools’ day without cheesiness, cringe, or insensitivity. Marketers planning for April 1, 2022 should take note.

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Razer: RGB hair dye

There’s so much to love about Razer’s “Chroma hair dye” video. It’s clearly not an actual product, but we all kind of wish it was. It’s poking fun at gamers’ love of RGB lighting, but not in a mean way. The box design is reminiscent of L’Oreal and other well-known hair dyes. Most of all, it’s full of ridiculous details, like “customizable per-hair lighting” and 1,337 active ingredients. It’s a great example of perfectly tailoring a gag to your audience, and gamers responded with thousands of retweets and likes.

Logitech G: A racing wheel for the puppers

Have you ever wished your dog could play video games with you? (If you say no, you’re lying.) Logitech G, once again showing that gaming peripheral companies have a sense of humor, has the solution: a racing wheel built with pups in mind. This tweet is well-crafted for a number of reasons, not least of which is the number of adorable dogs in the video. Just look at those puppers go!

On top of that, it increased engagement by asking followers to share pictures of their own canine racing crews. Using cute animals to score internet points might be the oldest trick in the book, but it’s hard to be mad when you’re scrolling through a Twitter thread full of doggos.

LEGO: Smarter bricks

Anyone who’s ever stepped on a LEGO brick knows the acute pain, usually followed by a few seconds of stumbling around and screaming obscenities. LEGO finally addressed this issue, which has plagued humankind for decades, in an April Fools’ project that shows bricks skittering away from unsuspecting feet. In a time where almost everything has a Wi-Fi connection, the SmartBrick feels like an appropriate response.

Like the other brands on this list, LEGO makes its fans feel like they’re part of the joke, not the subject of it. The simplicity works, too: a 20-second teaser is all this tweet needed to get the message across.

Duolingo: Even smarter toilet paper

Language app Duolingo went above and beyond with its 2021 April Fools’ joke. Instead of just a tweet, it created an entire website for Duolingo Roll, its made-up toilet paper designed to “turn your bathroom into a classroom.” The site has everything:

• Hilariously fake reviews like “Keeps my language learning on a regular schedule.”
• A quote from a so-called expert.
• Promo copy that puts actual corporate websites to shame.

To top it off, this goofy prank still manages to convey Duolingo’s core vision and keep its branding intact. Attempting to buy Duolingo Roll won’t take you to a checkout page, but it will direct you to the app’s actual website so you can start learning a new language in minutes a day.

The one thing these April Fools’ jokes have in common is that they’re not actually trying to fool anyone. By letting consumers in on the joke, these brands can retain their trust while making them feel included. If you want your April Fools’ pranks to go viral for the right reasons, keeping them inclusive and self-aware is the way to go.