April Fools’ Day. A day for pranks, gags, and brands inexplicably abandoning their carefully crafted personas for a cheap laugh. It’s a tradition that, frankly, feels more like a digital relic than a fun celebration. In an age where authenticity reigns supreme, brands pandering to the tired tropes of April 1st are doing themselves a disservice.
Remember that feeling of collective déjà vu when everyone on the internet seemed to be generating the same whimsical AI Studio Ghibli art? It was only a week or two ago that people around the globe were turning their boring beach snaps into whimsical Ghibli art and as Carly Ayres pointed out in her insightful piece, Everything is Ghibli the world was given carte blanche access to create ‘anything’ and somehow we all managed to make the same thing.
“When we got ‘create anything’ and all made the same thing,” she writes, capturing the essence of how manufactured “creativity” can feel utterly unoriginal. That, to me, is April Fools’ Day in a nutshell. Brands, desperate to appear “fun” or “relatable,” all trot out the same predictable pranks, resulting in a collective groan rather than genuine amusement from the audience.
Take, for instance, Royal Mail’s “Luxury Interiors paint range,” announcing fans can now ‘add a splash of colour and style to any wall with shades ranging from Postbox Red to Penny Black’.
There was also Dyson’s “AirBrow”, a miniaturised Airwrap for your eyebrows (sigh). And ASDA decided to resurrect its “pocket tap” campaign with a bizarre “rear pocket dress code,” mandating visible rear pockets for entry, even offering stick-on versions featuring their slogan (ugh!)
We also witnessed the reemergence of a particularly egregious trend: the “RIP” announcement. Following Duolingo’s (admittedly clever) declaration of the demise of Duo the Owl, brands across the world jumped on the bandwagon, announcing the “death” of various iconic brand elements. We saw Aldi “kill” their middle aisle a few weeks ago and then Lipton Ice Tea announced “Rest in Peach,” claiming they were discontinuing their popular peach-flavoured drink. Of course, Lipton quickly revealed it was a hoax.
And let’s not forget it’s not just big corporations or household names; regional brands businesses are not immune. Take Glasgow Taxi’s “lost puppy“, a transparently fabricated attempt at heartwarming content with the thinly veiled moral for passengers to ‘always check the backseat’ after their journey.
These examples, while intended as light-hearted, highlight the issue: they feel forced and out of character. They betray the core identity these brands have worked so hard to establish.
It’s particularly egregious when traditionally corporate or “buttoned-up” brands attempt to be “cheeky.” The result is often cringe-inducing, a stark contrast to brands like Innocent or Paddy Power, who already possess a naturally playful tone and don’t need to rely on a forced annual prank. They understand the power of authentic humour, delivered consistently, rather than a single, out-of-character stunt.
Let’s be honest: April Fools’ Day content can generate engagement. They get people talking, they boost those “vanity” metrics on social media – the likes, shares, and comments that seem so impressive on a report. But what do these numbers actually mean for a brand’s long-term health? I wonder if anyone has ever seen concrete evidence that April Fools’ Day helps build brand authenticity or foster trust. In fact, I suspect it often does the opposite. If brand guidelines are the north star, the carefully crafted document that outlines everything from a brand’s personality and tone to its visual aesthetic and colourways, why on earth would brands abandon their painstakingly curated image for one day of fleeting, often forced, “fun”? The temporary spike in engagement might look good on paper, but at what cost to the brand’s core identity? By straying from their established guidelines, brands risk appearing inconsistent, unreliable, and ultimately, inauthentic. They’re essentially saying, “We’re going to ignore everything we stand for, just for a few cheap laughs.” And in a world where consumers crave genuine connection, that’s a dangerous gamble to take.
It’s not just the forced “fun” that’s the problem. April Fools’ Day pranks often feel like brands desperately trying to prove they’re “human” or “relatable,” much like those generic holiday posts that don’t align with their overall aesthetic. We get it, you can acknowledge Christmas/New Year/Insert-Chosen-Holiday-Here, but a brand’s humanity isn’t demonstrated by a single, out-of-character social media post. True authenticity shines through in content that consistently reflects a brand’s ethos, its values, and most importantly how it treats its staff and customers. April Fools’ Day doesn’t magically make a brand “cool” or “relatable” for 24 hours. The rest of the year matters. Consumers aren’t fooled by a sudden, jarring shift in tone; and I would argue that more often than not they see through the charade, and it damages the brand’s credibility more than it helps.
While some argue that younger audiences, like Millennials, are adept at spotting inauthenticity online because, as this TikTok user posits their ‘pre-computer’ upbringing, research presents a more nuanced picture. A 2022 Forbes article detailed a two-year study conducted in the US by University of Cambridge psychologists, polling 18-29 year olds and those 65+. Surprisingly, only 11% of the younger group consistently identified real headlines, with 36% frequently misidentifying them. In contrast, older participants demonstrated significantly higher accuracy.
This shows us that spotting fake content isn’t a young person’s superpower, it’s a tricky skill for everyone. So, I’ve got to wonder: why are brands still bothering with these painfully obvious April Fools’ stunts? Is the world so bad and the internet so starved for laughs that this is the only trick social media managers have left? If that’s the case, someone needs to give them all a raise and approve their much needed annual leave.
As Sprout highlights in their 2025 UK Social Media Trends Report, authenticity and genuine connection are paramount this year. So, in a world increasingly saturated with AI-generated content, where concerns about “killing creativity” are rife, surely the last thing we need is brands regurgitating tired April Fools’ tropes or belatedly jumping (or rather stumbling) on predictable trends.
In my opinion, it’s time for brands to ditch the predictable pranks and embrace genuine creativity. Instead of fabricating outlandish products or scenarios, they should focus on delivering meaningful content that resonates with their audience. Authenticity, not artifice, is the key to building lasting brand perception.