Will You Be This Year's 'April Fish'? The History Of April Fools' Pranks

The segment showed farmers apparently picking spaghetti from trees and laying the strands out to dry. BBC reporter Richard Dimbleby was in on the joke and his authority lent credence to the ruse – reportedly, hundreds called the BBC asking where they could buy their own spaghetti trees.

Since then, a myriad of April Fools' Day Pranks have been played by global corporations and brands around the world, using the start of April to embrace “prankvertising”.

The power of prankvertising
In contemporary marketing, prankvertising – a mash-up of the words “prank” and “advertising” – is used for online branding purposes.

These “professionally developed” pranks are created by advertising agencies, often planned well ahead of execution and with anticipated results. In digital media, prankvertising has become a tactic for individuals' attention in a highly crowded market.

Research has found a carefully crafted “prankvertisement” can increase an individual's perception of brand “friendliness” and “love”, generate greater engagement and memorability, leading to a stronger willingness to buy – even when the product or announcement they are advertising is fake.

Why humour works to humanise brands
Humour, jokes and pranks are more greatly associated with humans, rather than organisations or brands. We all have a member of the family or a friend who we consider a lot of fun or a bit of a prankster.

Individuals generally desire partners who have a “good sense of humour”. In a workplace, humour between colleagues can build relationships.

Organisations and brands want to attain these same outcomes.

Advertising or promoting firm-initiated amusing media are more likely than non-humourous posts to encourage positive comments, likes and re-posts.

Incongruity theory says humour arises when two contrasting ideas are mingled. For instance, the CSIRO, police forces and emergency services are important, credible and “serious” organisations we normally don't associate with pranks.

When they participate in April Fools' Day events they generate greater levels of engagement, humour and fun, because we don't associate these organisations with pranks.

By engaging in April Fools' Day pranks, organisations and brands can build relationships and connect in the same way humans do, by creating positive emotions though entertaining (hopefully viral) campaigns.

So today, when you see stories about “iced coffee-inspired deodorant” or “Nutella-flavoured Tic Tacs”, take a moment to think if you've just been sucked into prankvertising.