April Fools’ Day is a time when brands embrace their playful side, offering up the most ridiculous, yet memorable, pranks.
This year, brands took the opportunity to create laughs with a mix of outlandish product launches and faux partnerships. From the CSIRO’s insect-attracting scent to Dare Iced Coffee’s decaf iced coffee, these pranks show that humour can be just as important as the product itself.
Here’s a roundup of the most amusing, clever, and downright unexpected April Fools’ jokes to hit our feeds.
CSIRO’s insects appealing all-natural scent
Australia’s national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), started April Fools’ Day with a mischievous prank: the announcement of Insects Appeal, an insect-attraction perfume. The scent, which CSIRO claimed was scientifically formulated using plant pheromones and other environmental factors, would allegedly make users irresistible to insects. With a top scent of lactic acid that is also known to lure mosquitoes, middle scents of pollen, and bottom scents of fermented fruit esters, it was billed as a must-have for researchers and insectophiles.
But in traditional April Fools’ fashion, the product was actually a prank.
Graya’s Fake Ferrari F1 sponsorship deal
Australian real estate developer Graya caused a stir on Instagram with an ambitious April Fools’ Day prank. The business posted a glossy reel revealing a $20 million sponsorship deal with the Ferrari Formula 1 team, complete with mock-up images of Ferrari cars featuring the Graya logo and even a photo-shopped picture of F1 driver Lewis Hamilton covered in the company’s branding.
The post, which was shared instantly and went viral, persuaded several that the high-profile deal was real. Graya later after posting, though, that it was an April Fools’ prank. The fake sponsorship garnered international interest and created a buzz, melding motorsport and property development in a way nobody expected.
Virgin Australia launches ‘Emotional Baggage Allowance’ Service
Virgin Australia, an Australian customer-focused airline, introduced a fun service named Emotional Baggage Allowance on April 1. The new service, which claimed to allow customers to check in their luggage, promised to allow customers to leave behind emotional baggage such as work worries, constant emails, and the stresses of life.
“Since we’re certain that travel’s not where you’re going – but how you get there,” Virgin Australia claimed in an April Fools’ announcement.
The airline speculated that their employees would help passengers forget their cares back home, leaving only “clouds” peeping out from the window. Of course, the statement was an April Fools’ prank, a spoof at the cost of emotional wear that can often follow traveling.
El Jannah’s ‘Flame & Glow’ Skincare Range
El Jannah, Australia’s fast food chain renowned for charcoal-grilled chicken, is so innocent and playful that they pulled the ultimate April Fools’ joke by introducing a new skin care product line Flame & Glow. The product line was advertised to have activated charcoal in it, which was claimed to help absorb impurities, absorb excess oil, and make the skin clean and deep cleaned—just like their bestselling grilled food.
El Jannah’s cheeky advertisement included a tagline: “From the grill to your glow-up.” Whilst many fans enjoyed the idea of a charcoal-burning skincare company, the whole experience was a clever joke that played on their brand’s well-known use of charcoal and provided a laugh to their loyal fanbase.
Subway & Birds Eye’s Footlong Chip Butty
In a shock partnership, Subway and Birds Eye teamed up to announce a new product—a Footlong Chip Butty, billed to combine the best of both brands: Subway’s legendary bread and Birds Eye’s Golden Crunch chips. The teaser promotion, which began circulating before April 1, included a footlong sub packed with crunchy chips, a cross between a classic Subway sub and a popular British snack.
However, naturally, it was an April Fools’ joke. The partnership was a cheeky mock-up, and the Footlong Chip Butty won’t be hitting stores. It was a friendly prank that merged fast food and frozen food for a humorous, limited-time spin on the usual lunch order.
Dare Iced Coffee’s ‘Dare Decaf’
Dare Iced Coffee, a well-known Australian iced coffee brand, continued its April Fools’ theme with a humorous campaign for a Dare Decaf iced coffee. The company, renowned for offering strong, caffeinated iced coffee drinks, had a chuckle at the expense of decaf coffee with the tagline: “For those who love coffee but hate staying awake.”
The press release claimed that Dare Iced Coffee had brought out a new decaffeinated version of their legendary iced coffee, targeting drinkers who love the taste but not the buzz. It was a classic April Fools’ prank by Dare, reinforcing its brand personality as one that doesn’t mind to have a little fun with their audience and bring their products in a humorous spirit.
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