I’m sure most Americans have noticed the trend of every holiday becoming a bigger deal than previous years, and newer, small holidays becoming incorporated as things that we now celebrate. St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and other such holidays are being angled as mini-Christmases now, which I notice especially since I work in the media field and begin receiving pitches for holiday-themed items months in advance. It’s a true example of marketing meets social media, as everything is a bigger deal now – be it sharing your holiday plans on Facebook or chiming in with others about the latest awards show on Twitter. The latest adopted holiday in recent years has been April Fool’s Day; this was never that big of a deal pre-social media, but since the Internet makes it so easy for each individual to spread misinformation quickly, it’s a no-brainer that this has become a big thing in recent years. I don’t trust what I read on an average day, and now my skepticism is on red-alert in the weeks leading up to April 1st, since the pranks seem to begin earlier and earlier each year.
What cracks me up about April Fool’s Day in 2013 is the fact that brands wanting to participate with a silly joke have to think in advance to keep up with editorial lead times. That means I’ve been getting totally deadpan press releases in my inbox for the last week for ridiculous products “Available April 1st”. My favorite was the “Naughty Mouth Soap”:
Parents of little children who are prone to potty mouth now have a valuable tool in their parenting arsenal, thanks to Munchkin, Inc., designer and manufacturer of clever infant and toddler products. The company today introduced its Naughty Mouth Soap—the latest addition to its collection of cleaning products—offering parents everywhere a non-toxic but foul-tasting deterrent to stop the future use of inappropriate language….Naughty Mouth Soap by Munchkin comes in five flavors to address behavioral situations in good ole’ traditional parenting fashion during time-outs, grocery store outbursts and more:
Whining Wasabi
Lying Liver
Spoiled Child, Spoiled Milk
Vulgarity Vomit
Extra-Strength Sour Pout Face
You have to admit, it’s genius. It got a good laugh out of me and, most importantly from a marketing standpoint, stood out among the 9,000 other pitches in my inbox. After all, I’m writing about it, aren’t I? (And no, FTC, I did not receive anything from this post, considering that the product doesn’t exist!)
What I also find hilarious is that there are enough ridiculous made-for-TV products out there which have seriously gotten me thinking they must be a prank due to their proximity to 04/01…but they ARE in fact real. Case in point:
“The Wine Rack”, a bra with a tube leading to a gel insert. You’re meant to fill the insert with wine and then discreetly sneak a few sips via the tube. I swore that this had to be fake, but from what I can tell, it’s actually for sale. And why yes, that is my Amazon Associates link if you care to add it to your cart to determine the legitimacy. 😉
And then, there’s this:
Eggs on a stick! I wondered if they were pulling my leg too, but their site seems as legit as any other ridiculous seen-on-TV product. And you better believe that I would totally review all of these products – because my sense of humor extends well beyond April 1st!
What’s the best April Fool’s Day prank you’ve ever pulled (Or had pulled on you)?
I’d buy the Eggmaster LOL
I think I’d buy the “soap” before the egg thing… lol.