Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Marketing tomfoolery: 9 memorable April Fools’ pranks from the ad world
SUSAN KRASHINSKY
The Globe and Mail
When T.S. Eliot declared that “April is the cruellest month,” he was not speaking of the pain of bad April Fools’ Day humour. But some people find the tradition just that odious.
Still, that does not stop marketers from joining in the somewhat dubious fun each year.
Still, that does not stop marketers from joining in the somewhat dubious fun each year.
BMW
“The April Fools’ Day concepts are designed to teeter on the verge of credibility, therefore taking in scores of slightly less vigilant readers. The concepts tend to focus on a new and revolutionary piece of technology from BMW, yet push the idea just beyond the plausible,” the website says.
Examples include its 2006 ad, “BMW uninvents the wheel,” and its 2008 “Canine Repellent Alloy Protection,” which claimed to prevent dogs from peeing on your luxury car by administering “an electrical charge known as Rim Impulse Power (R.I.P.)”
“The April Fools’ Day concepts are designed to teeter on the verge of credibility, therefore taking in scores of slightly less vigilant readers. The concepts tend to focus on a new and revolutionary piece of technology from BMW, yet push the idea just beyond the plausible,” the website says.
Examples include its 2006 ad, “BMW uninvents the wheel,” and its 2008 “Canine Repellent Alloy Protection,” which claimed to prevent dogs from peeing on your luxury car by administering “an electrical charge known as Rim Impulse Power (R.I.P.)”
Full Article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/marketing-tomfoolery-9-memorable-april-fools-pranks-from-the-ad-world/article10591240/
