April Fools' Day: Brands get creative with playful social media pranks
From Netflix to Domino's Pizza, brands are leveraging the occasion to connect with their audience by sharing playful posts.
On April Fool's Day, brands are leveraging the occasion to play playful pranks and share fun social media posts, tapping into the power of humour to create more shareable content. From fake product launches to humorous announcements, here's a glimpse of what brands are doing to engage their audience and spread some laughter.
Razorpay announced the launch of an industry-first and world's only Podcast as a Service Platform, named 'Razorpay PaaS.' This platform aims to revolutionise customization, allowing users to create a podcast within minutes on any topic of their choice, at their convenience. The platform has over 20 Celebrity Guests, including notable figures like Mark Zuckerberg, Joe Biden, Batman, Ironman, Rihanna, Morgan Freeman, Rafael Nadal, Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga, and Serena Williams, among others. However, Razorpay clarified that all voices are AI-generated parodies meant solely for entertainment purposes and do not involve the actual participation of the mentioned celebrities. This April Fool's Day post showcased Razorpay's playful spirit and creativity.
On April Fool's Day, the instant delivery service Blinkit shared a reel showcasing their efforts to revive Cadbury Bytes, a bite-sized snack. They depicted their campaign and claimed success in bringing back the snack. However, they then shared an audio clip from a fake account named 'cadburibites,' where a purported salesperson humorously requested users to share an OTP, indicating it was a scam. This was Blinkit's attempt to fool social media users into believing Cadbury was indeed bringing back the iconic snack, but it was actually a hoax.
Netflix played a prank on their audience on April Fool's Day by sharing a reel featuring a shot from Aamir Khan's ‘Lagaan,’ where the character Goli is bowling. The caption read, ‘How did he do that? Wait for the end.’ As viewers eagerly awaited the conclusion, it turned out the shot was a loop, continuously playing without a real ending, leaving the audience amused by the prank.
Disney Plus Hotstar celebrated April Fool's Day by sharing a series of memes crafted from pranks and humorous incidents in popular Bollywood movies. The memes featured scenes from films like ‘Ready,’ ‘Bala,’ ‘Bang Bang,’ and many more, delighting audiences with their comedic twists and references to iconic moments in Indian cinema.
Amazon Prime Video India shared a reel introducing their new ‘Jaggu Dada Mode’ in the app, where Jackie Shroff, famously known as Jaggu Dada, would dub famous movies and series in his iconic, free-spirited Bhidu style, adding a humorous touch to the content. They announced it as "Live from 1st April, only on Prime Video." However, it was soon revealed that the advertisement was solely for celebrating April Fool's Day.
Haldiram's, the Indian multinational sweets, snacks, and restaurant company headquartered in Noida, shared a post on their social media announcing that their shops would remain closed for the month of April. However, in the caption, they revealed that it was an April Fool's Day prank. Similarly, Haldirams Nagpur shared a series of their newly launched products, including jalebi-scented candles and pistachio lip balm, which also turned out to be an April Fool's prank.
IKEA India took to social media to share a video of ‘Barkland,’ their newly created play area for dogs, where customers can bring their pets into the shop and keep them in the designated play area while they shop stress-free, without needing to leave their pets at home. IKEA captioned the post, inviting viewers to visit the link in their bio for more information. Upon clicking the link, it was revealed that it was an April Fool's Day prank. However, IKEA also claimed that Barkland could potentially become a reality, encouraging customers to keep hoping for such a pet-friendly initiative.
Online food delivery platform Thrive shared a post featuring a cookie box and asked social media users to swipe it open for some delicious cookies. In Indian households, cookie boxes are often used by mothers to store sewing kits, sometimes leading kids to believe the box actually contains cookies. However, as users swiped the post, instead of a sewing kit, a post of cookies appeared. Thrive further stated, "No April Fools for us, we are busy eating," indicating that they are not participating in April Fool's pranks and are simply enjoying some delicious treats.
Popular frankie brand Tibbs Frankie shared a post on social media stating that their rolls are free. However, in the bottom of the post, it was mentioned that they are free from preservatives, adding a humorous twist to the announcement.
Faasos shared a post on social media teasing whether it's a prank or a free wrap offer. They instructed users to open the Faasos or EatSure app, add their favourite wrap to the cart, and use the code HAPPYBIRTHDAY at checkout. The post emphasised that the offer was valid only for that day, creating a sense of urgency and mystery around whether it was a genuine offer or an April Fool's Day prank.
Bikaji foods who has been in the market for 35 years shared a post on april fool's day with the caption: ‘this day belongs to those who say no to Bikaji.’ This playful message humorously acknowledges the occasion while maintaining the brand's identity.
Domino's Pizza shared a post inviting users to swipe for a free Domino's pizza. However, upon swiping, it simply says ‘lol,’ adding a humorous twist to the post.
