As is tradition, every year on April 1 marketers get a little silly. Looking for some fooling material? Here are some of the April Fools' ads and gimmicks that made our day. Or made us cringe. You might never look at some of these brands the same way again.
The dreaded time is almost upon us. In this April Fools' gag spot, courtesy of Leo Burnett, Esurance wants us to prepare for the worst this November with election insurance. You know, in case the wrong candidate wins the White House and you have to abandon your own home and move to Canada. The election insurance will protect your home while you are gulping down maple syrup with the moose.
Of course, every insurance plan comes with options. Esurance will protect your home with weekly maintenance, Christmas lights for the holidays and a teenager to cry over a breakup in the front yard. The way this election is playing out, this could actually come in handy.
Blackjet Inc.
Toronto-based Blackjet Inc. is trying to become the dopest creative agency with this April Fool’s ad. To attain top-notch talent (not to mention millennials), it is adding free pot to its employee benefits package. The agency conducted multiple focus groups made up of millennials to come to the conclusion that the generation just needs some weed to do good work, says the agency in a press release.
Partner Mo Solomon says that this "pot perk" has been received very well by potential employees. "It will be tough to weed through all the candidates. Now we're even looking into some extensions like brownies and cookies," says Mo Solomon, Partner, Blackjet Inc. #DopeAgency
Quilted Northern
For April Fools', Georgia-Pacific brand Quilted Northern is going old-school and "rolling" back 100 years to create their artisanal "rustic weave" toilet paper line. Straight from the tree to the toilet, Quilted Northern understands that its consumers want a handcrafted, raw product. It’s also available in small batch, cedar loom, and extra virgin birch. These "roll" the brand into a whole new space — crafts.
"We expect this product to fill a large white space in the toilet tissue category," said Jason Ippen, senior brand director at Georgia-Pacific in a press release. "We know consumers want to connect with their product and have an interest in craftsmanship. We want people to know that small-batch and big-batch are not mutually exclusive." The spot was created by Droga5, which has a history of employing dark humor to advertise the brand.
Progressive
Just like some people are terrible at March Madness pools but can’t stop filling out brackets, others can’t help themselves trying out practical jokes that never seem to work every April 1.
Progressive has a plan for that: April Fools' Insurance.
Starting at 3 a.m. on April Fools' Day, consumers can go to NameYourPrank.com — get it? Sort of like Progressive’s Name Your Price tool — and pick a news or event category in which to feature your friend (or mortal enemy). Just add a photo or connect to Facebook, and voila, the perfect gag assist for the April Fools' Day inept.
And thanks to Progressive for making one PRWeek editor the voice of car navigation systems everywhere.
Tough Mudder
Military-style obstacle course event series Tough Mudder, known for literally shocking its fanbase on a regular basis, attempted to faze consumers by launching a line of toys on Friday. The products consist of a series of obstacles that allow fans to train for their next Tough Mudder event at home or on-the-go.
One of the obstacles that consumers can purchase is Tough Mudder’s Electroshock Therapy product, which packs over 20,000 volts of electricity. Other Tough Mudder Toys include a portable "arctic enema" kit, and a lifetime warranty on barbed wire.
Because each product is compact, lightweight, and portable, Tough Mudder noted that they easily allow consumers to train for each obstacle at work, home, kids’ birthday parties, and company picnics.