The Best April Fools Campaigns 2021

With April now coming to an end, we thought it would be a good time to round up our favourite April Fools campaigns of 2021! Each year, we see companies concocting crazy, yet somehow believable pranks that have their customers sold hook, line, and sinker every year, and there have been some corkers in the past too. On top of this, there has even been a couple of pranks that were so popular that they actually became a real product due to the level of demand (Kopparberg ice lolly, anyone?) This year, a few companies chose to abstain from making their April Fools jokes as they didn’t think it was appropriate to do so in the current situation regarding Covid-19, but we think these pranks are a great way to give everyone a welcome breather, so here are our top pranks for 2021! 

BMW went indicator-less!

Much to our surprise, it turns out BMWs DO have indicators, or at least, they did until the start of April when BMW themselves revealed that their cars would now be sold without turn signals due to the lack of use they were seeing. Of course, this is an obvious play on the stereotype that many BMW drivers carry thanks to their less than considerate driving style, but to see the manufacturer themselves recognising this fact was a pleasant revelation. BMW has been a regular contributor to the April Fools tradition over the years, with self-driving cars and Lunar paint, which would help their cars to charge in the dark, being joked about too!

Lego released their ‘SmartBricks’ 

We’ve all stood on a Lego brick, which means we all understand the unrivalled pain that it causes, making the average person want to chop their own leg off just to numb the pain. This year, Lego looked to present us with the solution to all of our problems with the ‘SmartBricks’! These intuitive bricks would sense movement and dodge your feet (yes, it’s more far fetched than most), saving us all from the pain of stepping on a Lego brick ever again. Unfortunately, Lego hasn’t actually developed the ‘SmartBricks’, but we can all live in hope until they do…

Ant and Dec, or is it Dec and Ant? 

Beloved TV duo Ant and Dec have been on our screens for decades – they’re instantly recognisable, loved by most of the nation, and have presented some of our favourite TV shows over the years, from I’m A Celeb to Saturday Night Takeaway and more! Part of the pair’s unmistakable image is their Ant and Dec branding – they’ve always been known as such, other than the PJ and Duncan years which they’d both rather forget, and anything else would just seem a little bit… wrong. 

Well, get ready to cover your eyes in horror as Ant and Dec have announced that they will be trialling the Dec and Ant brand going forwards in an attempt to stay fresh and keep people on their toes. This will, of course, mean that their flagship show will now be renamed as ‘Dec & Ant’s Saturday Night Takeaway’, but we’ll all get used to that pretty easily, right? 

Thankfully, the pair have now confirmed that this change was all in jest and that they’ll still be known as Ant and Dec for the time being, which is music to our ears. 

DuoLingo loo roll 

Have you ever wanted to learn a new language, but never quite found the time to dedicate to actually learning one? Well, DuoLingo has got it covered with their new product that helps you to make use of the number one time-wasting activity that plagues us all; the time spent on the loo! With the DuoLingo toilet roll, available in 3 different languages, you’ll be able to take your language lessons whilst sat on the bog, which is exactly what the bathroom was missing… isn’t it? Available in green to learn Spanish for English speakers, blue to learn English for Japanese speakers, or orange to learn English for Spanish speakers, the DuoLingo roll was touted as a quick and simple way to learn basic phrases one sheet at a time. Whilst the project is clearly fake, a limited number of the rolls have been created and were used as giveaway prizes across the official DuoLingo social channels on April 2nd. 

April Fools is one of our favourite marketing days of the year, but it’s important to be proactive and creative with your digital strategy on a consistent basis, not just once a year. If you’d like to learn more about how our talented team here at Embryo can help to take your business to the next level, you can get in touch by clicking here or giving us a call on 0161 327 2635.