April Fools’ Day PR stunts are a high-stakes game. Do it right, and your brand rides a viral wave and the marketing team gets a standing ovation in the office (how I imagine it is working in-house anyway). Do it wrong, and you’ll be stuck explaining to customers why they can’t actually buy your fake product and to the board of directors why you wasted so much money.
Now there is always an argument that you don’t need to wait till April 1st for a PR stunt; if the idea is strong enough, the chances are it will work at any time of year (with less competition), but this time of year does give us chance to showcase the fun side of our brands out into the media.
At Bottled Imagination, we’re no strangers to a stunt or two. This year, we ran two successful campaigns – Doms Proteinon and The City Napper – both of which landed a ton of coverage (and links).
Now we aren’t one to gatekeep our processes and thinking, so I’m going to break down how we nail an April Fools’ campaign, from embargo decisions to the nature of outreaching to the media on the day.
But before we break into the secrets of our success, we should show that we walk the walk too and show you our campaigns from this year (we’ll publish full case studies soon!)
Doms Proteinon
Teaming up with our client Protein Works, we’re rewriting the rules of celebration, bringing back a vintage tradition with a modern twist. The launch of Doms Proteinon – a new luxurious, nutritious and non-alcoholic way to celebrate your wins.
Highlight coverage included PR Week, Campaign, FoodBible, Retail Times & more.
The City Napper
Next up was our City Napper by The Odd Company. With tubes and buses scoring the lowest in Napability Index (yes, we made this a thing), we launched the City Napper, featuring a cushioned headrest, quilted poncho cover and neck support – perfect for catching extra sleep on the go.
Already spotted today on the number 1 bus, Victoria Line, CNET, The Mirror, Tom’s Guide and more.
So here’s our top insights on how to run a successful April Fools stunt.
1. What Makes a Good April Fools’ Idea?
As with any PR campaign, April Fools’ specific campaigns live or die by their concept. It has to be just believable enough while still being completely ridiculous.
Senior Digital PR Manager, Alex Fisher breaks it down:
“You’re most likely to place April Fools’ content within a roundup of the best brand pranks, or (in some rarer instances) in a story dedicated to your April Fools’ stunt. With the former much more prevalent and more likely to break into, consider that journalists will need to be able to concisely summarise your campaign in a few lines, with a strong image which also tells the story.”
In other words: keep it simple, visually striking, and easy to explain.
Take Doms Proteinon for example. Digital PR Exec, Felicity Wright explains why it worked so well:
“‘Dom’s Proteinon’ was the ideal April Fools’ product because it had something for everyone. It was playful yet plausible—sitting at the intersection of fitness, luxury, and lifestyle, which meant it had broad appeal across different media categories, from drinks and wellness to marketing and innovation.”
And then there was The City Napper, which tapped into a universal trope (napping on the commute) and presented a ludicrously over-the-top solution (a luxury duvet and headrest device specifically designed for public transport). Relatable? Yes. Absurd? Also yes. That’s the sweet spot.
2. To Embargo or EmbargNO?
Each campaign we ran has seen successful coverage with both methods. And in line with our SEO roots, we might just end up landing on “it depends”.
According to Alex:
“Typically, most April Fools’ Day coverage is published on 1st April exclusively. As such, it’s advisable to start outreaching your story around two weeks before the big day, because journalists will schedule stories ahead of time. However, this year we found that our first piece of coverage on CNET went live the Friday before, which is a strong argument for NOT embargoing your story!”
On the flip side, Felicity (who worked the Doms Proteinon campaign) argues that embargoing stopped anything being leaked early.
“We placed the release under embargo until April 1st to ensure the stunt landed exactly as intended. The embargo allowed us to give journalists a heads-up in advance, increasing our chances of securing early morning coverage on the day, while also making it clear that this wasn’t a real product launch.
It was a balancing act – providing just enough transparency so media publications knew how to position it, while still maintaining the excitement of an April Fools’ reveal.”
So, what’s the verdict?
It depends on your goal. If you created this PR stunt purely just for April Fools and to land with impact on the day – the embargo can help do this. However, if you are less precious and want to create buzz and secure coverage in the lead-up to April 1st and even post, as a solid PR stunt can work at any time of year, you may not need the embargo.
3. Outreaching on the day
A PR goldmine on April 1st is live blogs. Many major news outlets run live feeds tracking all the best April Fools’ pranks throughout the day. These are prime real estate for getting extra visibility (and links).
Alex Fisher shares our experience:
“It’s important to start pushing out your story a couple of weeks ahead of April Fools’ Day, but that doesn’t mean that work stops on the 1st. Some national titles run live blogs which are updated throughout the day, making them great targets for your story. We found this year that the journalists working on the blogs were not the same as those in years prior, opening up a new pool of contacts to reach out to.”
How to land live coverage:
- On April 1st morning, follow up with journalists you’ve already pitched to remind them about your campaign.
- Identify which outlets are running live blogs and contact those journalists ASAP.
- Ensure you have a killer visual – something that instantly grabs attention in a long list of April Fools’ stunts.
4. Have a solid creative
At the end of the day, April Fools’ PR success comes down to a strong, well-executed idea. If your concept is too complicated, too niche, or too forgettable, it won’t land—no matter how well you execute the outreach. But even if you have that, you need a strong creative visual.
Now at Bottled Imagination, we like to do things for real. So with the help of our clients, we created these products and shot them in person. No AI in sight here.
We made sure we had assets that could sit across a variety of channels and that we could supply to the media to sell in our story.
This looks like it was genuinely spotted on the bus, right?!
So, whether you’re launching a high-protein luxury beverage or a portable mattress for your commute, make sure:
- It’s instantly understandable.
- It’s funny but not offensive.
- It has broad appeal across different media verticals.
- It has a visual to share
If you tick those boxes, you’re on to a winner.
5. Bonus: Amplify amplify amplify.
Getting press coverage is great, but a truly successful April Fools’ campaign lives beyond just media placements. You need to amplify the campaign across all your channels.
Use your community on social
- Tease the idea a few days before (but don’t give too much away).
- Drop the reveal early on April 1st.
- Engage with audience reactions – if people think it’s real, lean into it before coming clean.
Paid Media, Email, and any other channel you can think of.
Summary
Let’s be honest, a creative PR stunt can work its magic any day of the year. There’s nothing particularly magical about April 1st that suddenly makes journalists receptive to outlandish brand ideas (OK, well some might be). But (and it’s a sizeable but) the day does offer a perfect excuse to flex those creative muscles when clients are feeling a bit risk-averse the rest of the year.
The secret sauce? Do the fundamentals. Create something deliciously absurd yet oddly plausible. Make it visually stunning (no, your graphic designer’s quick mock-up won’t cut it). And for goodness’ sake, when outreaching on April 1st, spell it out for journalists that this is your April Fools’ campaign, they’re drowning in pitches that day and need the clarity. Those live blogs won’t populate themselves and they want your story.
Whether you embargo or not is entirely your call, we’ve succeeded both ways, but whatever you do, commit to it with confidence. Now bookmark this blog and save it for next year when you create something worthy of that standing ovation we all secretly crave.
A story for another day…
When all is said and done, PR takes some hard graft and hustle, and sometimes you have to go the extra mile too to secure that bit of coverage. Here was this morning’s side quest to the FoodBible office – guess it’s handy only being round the corner.
