April Fools' Day guide for marketers

It's that time of year again when brands everywhere want to do one thing: make people laugh. Not always an easy task, especially with everything that's going on in the world. Some succeed, while others will leave us cringing. 

April Fools' Day is our yearly reminder that humour still plays an important role in marketing. From fake product launches to name changes, it's one of the few days of the year when audiences expect brands to have a little fun. But it also raises an important question: does humour still work in marketing, and if so, how should brands use it?

Humour makes us feel something, and that’s why it's long been one of advertising's best tools. As Rowenna Prest, Chief Strategy Officer at creative agency Joint, explains: "It's well proven that people make decisions with their heart, and then post-rationalise with their head. So it's perhaps unsurprising that humour, because it creates strong positive emotional responses, is a bit of a killer when it comes to comms and effectiveness."

So, what role should humour play in marketing today, and what can April 1st teach us about using it well?

Humour needs more than a good idea

Humour works, but not when used for the sake of it. Like any good campaign, there should always be a clear understanding of the audience and the role humour plays in the wider brand story. In other words, it’s not about whether the marketing team finds it funny, as Prest explains: "Humour is very much a matter of taste, so the first question shouldn't be 'do I find this funny?' but 'would my intended audience find it funny?'"

It's an easy trap to fall into. What might have Dave on the social media team rolling around laughing might not land the same way with customers. Testing your ideas with the right audiences will help avoid humour that feels forced or misses the mark entirely. As Prest points out: “Qual testing can really help here because one generation’s Dad joke can be another’s chortle.”

Prest also warns that humour should always support the brand rather than distract from it: "Is the joke in the service of the product and or brand and not the other way around? There is a danger that the joke can overshadow the brand, so there needs to be a reason for it."

Rebecca Flitton-O'Brien, Head of Strategy at Pace, agrees that humour needs to feel authentic to the brand behind it: "Humour absolutely still has a place in modern marketing, but for an April Fools' Day campaign to land, it needs to be more than just funny."

Instead, she says humour works best when it feels both relevant to the audience and true to the brand behind it: "It must feel authentic to the brand's values, resonate with the intended audience and avoid coming across as too obvious or disconnected from what the brand naturally stands for."

Flitton-O'Brien references Birds Eye's 'Waffholes', which jokingly explained what happens to the leftover pieces of its potato waffles, and Dyson's 'AirBrow', a faux eyebrow styling tool.

"Both worked because they blended humour with clear brand relevance and clever execution – a balance that's essential for this type of campaign to succeed," she says. 

It's all about context

April 1st is an obvious choice for brands that want to show their funny side. But with so many taking part, it can sometimes feel a little... predictable. Like with all good jokes, timing and context are absolutely key.

Katie Hunter, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Wonderhood Studios’ Makers Studio, believes April Fools’ campaigns can still work – but only when brands really understand who they're talking to: “The short answer? They can be. But like any good joke, it’s all about context.”

She refers to a campaign her team created for Waitrose, which launched “adults only” Easter eggs. The idea worked, she says, because it grew out of conversations that were already happening online.

“That really flew, but it came out of a data-led insight and existing online conversations in places like Reddit, so we knew that the joke was already bubbling away and people would relate to it.”

For Hunter, the best April Fools’ ideas sit on the edge of believability: “For me, the key to a successful April Fools laugh is one that is believable or plausible, rather than too out there or ‘kooky’.”

Elizabeth Hutchison, copywriter at AML, says humour in advertising can be a risky game: “Get it wrong and your beloved brand becomes cringe or cancelled. Get it right and you’ve played a blinder.”

Brands have learned that lesson the hard way. Take Burger King’s infamous ‘Women belong in the kitchen’ tweet on International Women’s Day as a prime example. While not an April Fools’ stunt, but an attempt at humour, it was intended to promote a scholarship programme for female chefs, but instead sparked widespread backlash online. 

She compares the challenge of getting humour right to performing stand-up comedy: “There’s no worse anxiety than the moment before you step on stage. And no greater feeling than making hundreds of people crack up. It’s high stakes, high reward. Much like the use of humour in advertising.”

But when it comes to April Fools’ campaigns specifically, Hutchison believes the format may have lost some of its impact: “I really think we’ve done these to death. They’re either forced or completely missable.”

Humour in a social-first world

Humour in advertising isn't new, but the way it spreads today is very different. Brands love social media for showing their playful side, where people decide within seconds whether they’re going to share something.

That means humour needs to feel natural to the platform it appears on. Hunter believes marketers sometimes blur the lines between humour and entertainment more generally: "Importantly, let's not confuse entertainment with humour. There are lots of ways to be engaging, relevant or impactful that don't necessarily require gags."

Instead, she says brands need to think carefully about how their tone translates across different platforms: "Another crucial element of that is platform behaviour and how humour shows up in specific places. Because it isn't the same across the board. Do you want to be funny there? Is that the kind of funny you want to be? Who are you aligning yourself with?"

For many brands, this is where creators and influencers can really add value. Mandy Gould, Executive Creative Director at Wonderhood Studios' Makers Studio, says creators often have a far better understanding of how humour works online: "Humour-focussed communities are essentially the comedic operating system of the internet. They understand pacing, tone, editing style, references and the micro-behaviours that make people stop scrolling."

When brands try to copy that style without fully understanding it themselves, the results end up feeling awkward: "When brands try to manufacture that same humour themselves, it often feels like advertising attempting to cosplay as internet culture. Everyone can see through it."

Instead, Gould says brands need a strong core idea and allow creators to interpret it in their own way: "What works best is when brands provide a simple comedic premise or tension, and creators interpret it through their own format. The humour then feels native rather than scripted."

Read the room

When people laugh, not only do they relax and pay attention, but they're also far more likely to remember what they've seen.

As Megan Dooley, Head of Brand at TAL Agency, explains: "Marketing is all about invoking emotion, and something funny really triggers that emotional, memorable reaction and in turn positive association with the brand."

It's the emotional response which helps build a sense of connection between brands and audiences: "Not only does laughter trigger the brain's reward system – AKA dopamine neurotransmitters – but it makes us feel bonded – even if that's to a brand."

We're all becoming more sceptical of marketing messages, but the sense of humanity humour brings can make a big difference: "Marketing, especially with AI being so widely used in 2026, has seen a growing appetite for realness, integrity, and hyper-personalisation – because humanity now cuts through the noise of technology."

But with great humour comes great responsibility... and risks. What one person finds funny, another might find awkward or offensive, particularly online where reactions spread quickly.

For that reason, Dooley says context is critical: "It's always crucial to read the room, and consider whether the campaign will land within the social, political and economic landscape, and of course, it’s vital that the humour is totally harmless and inoffensive. "

Compelling marketing campaigns start with an inspiring brand narrative and stories that shape the way we feel, think and act. To learn how brand storytelling fits into marketing strategies and what you can do to make your own stories more relatable, sign up for CIM's Storytelling Masterclass now.