April 1 has become as much an occasion for brands as it is for consumers. Here’s a look at how a few of them have turned prankster today – and, in some cases, still manage to drive home their brand positioning or product offering.
WestJet and Swoop
WestJet has become almost as well-known for its April Fools Day stunts as it has for its staff and passenger surprises.
Today, the airline is turning its good-natured pranks to a new luxury flight-slash-festival called “#FlyreFestival.” WestJet has already been promoting the comfort and luxury its Dreamliner fleet offers travellers, but a video by agency partners Oliver and Studio M takes it to new levels that will be familiar to anyone that’s up-to-date on their Netflix documentaries, from the presence of influencers and models to pounding EDM music and “cute pigs.”
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On the other end of the price spectrum, the airline’s low-cost carrier Swoop has also gotten in on the festivities. Like other low-cost carriers, Swoop keeps ticket prices low by selling only the seat, and offering any other services at an extra cost. Seemingly poking fun at that, Swoop (working with Oliver) has debuted “Recline-For-A-Dime,” charging 10 cents for every ten degrees a passenger reclines their seat – which might actually be something people clamour for the next time someone reclines a seat directly into their lap.
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David Suzuki Foundation
Bees have had a rough go of it lately, with ongoing threats to their habitats causing a decline in their population.
The David Suzuki Foundation is using April 1 to launch a new service called “Bee-bnb,” an Airbnb-style service that helps bees find areas that are hospitable for them by tracking down amenities such as wildflowers, water sources and sunny patches for basking along their normal migratory routes.
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While meant as a joke, the kind of “amenities” listed for properties on the site actually provide Canadians with a fairly good guide on how to make their homes more hospitable to bees – such as having native wildflowers in their home garden – as well as information about different types of bees that might visit. The “Bee-bnb” website also contains a number of real resources for Canadians looking to help their local bee populations, as well as other bugs and insects that help plant life, like butterflies.
Indochino
Last year, made-to-measure suit company Indochino expanded its product selection, bringing its custom fits and premium fabrics to more casual options. For April 1, the brand is “now disrupting the sleepwear category” by expanding into custom pajamas.
In response to what Indochino claims to be “overwhelming” requests from customers, the pajamas are available in the same fashion-forward premium fabrics as its suits, as well as numerous customizable cut and styling options. More information about the pajamas are on the brand’s website (attempts to buy the pajamas will reveal the joke, but also trigger an offer, giving customers $25 off their first custom suit order if they sign up for the brand’s newsletter).
SkipTheDishes
SkipTheDishes is already known for helping people on-the-go forgo the extra stress of organizing their nightly meal. With such a reliable service at your fingertips, why have dishes at all? Currently live on the brand’s social channels, a video is promoting a new service where users can use their SkipTheDishes app to appraise any dishes taking up space in their cupboards, after which one of the brand’s experts will take them away and dispose of them in exchange for cash. Even though users can’t actually get cash for their dishes, SkipTheDishes is offering a discount off their next order through its website (today only, of course).
