“For every smart person, there is a fool.” — Tamerlan Kuzgov
April showers might bring May flowers, but April 1st brings straight tomfoolery from your favorite brands. The day affectionately known as April Fools Day falls each year on the first day of the tulip filled month and it brings jokes with it. Whether it’s a knock knock joke or a full blown prank, April 1st is a day that nary escape without a fast one or two being pulled over on them. What’s great about April Fools Day is that it gives brands that don’t always have a chance to joke around the ability to do just that, and boy do they take advantage.
Companies like to run the gamut of types of pranks they’re going to run on their consumers during this 24 hour period. Some throw shade, some go straight silly, and others choose to go just enough off center that you can’t really decide if it’s fake or not, and really, those are the best ones. Whatever the prank, April Fools Day is a literal playground for children and brands alike.
Take a peek at some of 2024’s greatest brand takes on April Fools Day.
Smoothie King’s Air-Wan Smoothie
Did someone say shade? Smoothie King’s 2024 April Fools post has one purpose: poke fun at the highly touted Erewhon grocery store. If you’re on TikTok, then odds are you’ve seen a video or two about the miraculous Erwhon smoothies that cost a solid $20 per smoothie and are oftentimes representative of a different celebrity such as Hailey Bieber and Olivia Rodrigo. Smoothie King takes aim at the influencer brand by not only saying their new special is an air only smoothie but that they’re naming it Air-Wan after their owner Wan Kim. The best part is that they told Today.com that the smoothie would be available starting April 1 for $41.24. What a great way to start April Fools Day.
Olipop & Pringle’s New Soda Flavor
Talk about a match made in heaven…or maybe not. Starting at the end of March, health conscious soda brand, Olipop, started hinting on their social media sites of a new flavor coming soon. This photo includes a subtle nod to the Pringle’s logo. Come April 1st, the actual launch of the fictional product was released into the world through a carousel of photos featuring Sour Cream & Onion Pringles and the new Sour Cream & Onion Olipop. The final photo on the carousel included a lovely note stating ‘April Fools’ leading their followers to leave comments such as “NOT YALL SETTING THIS PRANK UP SINCE LAST WEEK”, “I was literally excited. My heart is broken”, and “Bestie I was bamboozled” which can only leave us guessing that the world may actually be ready for a chip flavored soda.
Scotch Tape Makes Scotch
Scotch Brand mixed a little light hearted humor with a little dark liquor for April Fools. The famous tape brand posted at the end of March that they’d be introducing their single malt scotch whisky starting on April 1, leading to many people’s delight and surprise. Leading to the same people’s dismay was the announcement on April 1 that this was in fact all a joke.
Tinder’s VP of Ghosting
For anyone in the dating world, it’s rough out there, and Tinder knows that all too well. As a way to combat the uptick in people ghosting* potential love interests, Tinder announced its newest position, VP of Ghosting. This person would be in charge of providing solutions to the phenomenon where matches unexpectedly leave someone on read. The job description went through various details on what the ideal candidate would include before wrapping things up with “Ability to analyze data and read through an entire job interview to realize this is an April Fools prank.” Honestly, it was the perfect April Fools joke for this brand.
*When a person cuts off all communication with their friends or the person they’re dating, with zero warning or notice beforehand.
Auntie Anne’s Pretzels and Frontier Airlines
Arguably the most outrageous of them all was the gag from Auntie Anne’s and Frontier Airlines. They announced the new Pretzel-Plane. This airline paradise would feature inflight entertainment including seat-side Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, the smell of fresh pretzels through the cabin, and even airplane shaped pretzels. Like many other pranks, this April Fools joke included a very convincing photoshoot, but not many people were buying this outrageous idea.
It doesn’t matter if you’re 5 years old or 55 years old, pranks can be a fun way to show your personality, and that’s why so many brands choose to get in on the action on the day dedicated to all things foolishness. With 2024’s April Fools Day in the books, I can’t wait to see what brands take it up a notch in 2025.
Which April Fools prank was your favorite? Comment below!
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