Everyone Loves to Laugh

from Drew:

Is your brand an April Fool’s joke?

Posted: 21 Mar 2011 06:57 PM PDT

Some brands are better suited at being playful than others. The same is true of their customers. With the arrival of April Fool’s Day, you may be thinking about pulling a fast one on your unsuspecting clients. Tread slowly…

While most people enjoy a good chuckle… you walk a fine line when it comes to practical jokes. Some people like to laugh but really hate it when the laugh is on them.

Last year, several big name brands shouted “gotcha” at their loyal followers and it seems like none are any worse for the wear.

Google asked members to sign up to test the newly unveiled “store everything” feature in Google Docs. Google Docs was allowing users to store more than documents; they could store their pet rock collections, winter clothes, apartments and even their pets for a competitive price.

Starbucks announced that in response to customers requesting more beverage sizes, they were introducing the 128-ounce “Plenta” and the 2-ounce “Micra.” Starbucks explained that the additions were a result of direct customer feedback from MyStarbucksIdea.com and a year’s worth of research.

As seen above, Nike released a video revealing the secret behind where they get the air for Nike Air shoes. The video explains that the air is collected from star athletes to help you perform at your best.

GameStation added an “immortal soul clause” into their terms and conditions in which consumers surrendered their souls to the company if they chose not to opt out of the clause. GameStation collected a total of 7,500 souls who decided to skip the terms and conditions (or didn’t mind the new clause).

Coldplay revealed on their website that they had released a perfume called, “Angst.” The bottle was featured in the band’s online store but unfortunately it was all sold out. Frontman Chris Martin said, “This is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time. People like to smell nice and we thought we could help them out.”

What do you think?

• Is this a gimmick that only works for big consumer brands?
• Can you see this playing well with your customers?
• Is the risk of it backfiring worth taking to create big buzz?

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