Every year on April 1st, brands step away from the serious stuff, loosen their collars, and let a little personality through. Some go big with elaborate pranks. Others keep it subtle. But for marketers, creatives, and anyone with a bit of a sense of humour, it’s one of the most anticipated days on the calendar, a rare moment when the brief is basically: break the rules.
April Fools’ Day has become more than just a chance to be funny, it’s a creative showcase. It’s a reminder that audiences aren’t just customers, they’re people who respond to humour, storytelling, and self-awareness. Brands that embrace this understand something essential: relatability is magnetic.
More than just a chance to be funny, it’s a creative showcase.
Whether it’s poking fun at your most iconic product or leaning into the quirks your audience knows all too well, these campaigns hit when they feel personal, not promotional. That said, not every brand needs to jump on the April Fools’ bandwagon. Great marketing doesn’t come from forcing relevance. It comes from knowing your voice, your audience, and when to speak up (or sit it out).
At its best, April Fools’ marketing cuts through the noise with charm and creativity. At its worst, it fades into a sea of “gotcha” moments that miss the mark. What separates a scroll-stopper from a scroll-past? A few things: timing, execution, and, above all, knowing your audience. A great April Fools’ idea doesn’t just surprise, it makes people feel like they’re in on the joke.
Take Woolworths’ ChucklesCoin™, for example. A spoof cryptocurrency based on their fan-favourite chocolate? Ridiculous. But it’s also kind of perfect. It built on a year’s worth of Chuckles content and came off the back of a previous April Fools’ campaign, which was so popular that it led to actual products (yes, the Chuckles body wash is real). ChucklesCoin™ wasn’t just funny. It made sense for the brand. And that’s why it worked.
There’s also something to be said for the cultural expectation of April Fools’. Audiences actively look out for what their favourite brands will do. It’s become a day where brands known for bold ideas have permission to push even further. The guardrails drop, and suddenly, there’s room for risk, wit, and the kind of campaign you wish could live beyond a single day.
At Coffee Creative, we see April Fools’ as a creative sandbox. It encourages play, risks, and refreshing honesty. It’s a day where brand voice can stretch a little further and ideas can get weird (in the best way).
Some 2025 April Fools’ Highlights
01
Engen & Krispy Kreme – The Disappearing Snack Gag
Engen and Krispy Kreme took a similar approach of pretending to pull fan-favourite snacks from their offerings. The posts were believable enough to spark a double take, but cheeky enough to never be taken too seriously. A playful twist on scarcity that got people talking.
02
FlySafair – Overhead Bins, Out the Window
FlySafair’s April Fools’ Day prank ditched overhead bins for “extra space” and fuel efficiency. It worked by playing on real travel frustrations, tight cabins and hidden costs while staying true to the brand’s low-cost, convenience-first promise. Clever, absurd, and perfectly timed for price-sensitive travellers.
03
ONE/SIZE x Grindr – Hook-Up-Proof Setting Spray
ONE/SIZE x Grindr dropped a hook-up-proof setting spray “coming April 2069.” It’s cheeky, bold, and perfectly on-brand, blending beauty culture with Grindr’s humour and sex-positive tone. It’s outrageous enough to go viral but sharp enough to feel like a natural collaboration.
04
NetFlorist – Hampers for Pets
ONE/SIZE x Grindr dropped a hook-up-proof setting spray “coming April 2069.” It’s cheeky, bold, and perfectly on-brand, blending beauty culture with Grindr’s humour and sex-positive tone. It’s outrageous enough to go viral but sharp enough to feel like a natural collaboration.
What worked about these?
They were on-brand, delightfully absurd, and rooted in either a real trend or a known brand tension. This year’s best examples leaned into hyper-specificity, used high-quality visuals, and carried just enough believability to make you pause… then laugh. Many felt the flops of the day are the ones that leaned too heavily on obvious AI or poor Photoshop jobs. In a feed full of content, the bar for “surprise and delight” is high and it’s not met with a quick Canva graphic and a punchline that lands flat.
So, what makes a good April Fools’ campaign?
- Know your audience: inside jokes > broad gags
- Keep it on-brand: weird works best when it’s recognisably you
- Commit to the bit: high effort is half the win
- Make it shareable: clever visuals, great copy, light touch
A great April Fools’ idea won’t save your marketing strategy, but it might just remind people why they like you. And in a landscape full of serious messaging and scheduled content, a little unexpected joy goes a long way.
See what we got up to for April Fools Day in 2025:
