A Whopper-flavoured toothpaste and a weekend staycation where you can chill in a panda costume… those were the first two April Fool’s Day pranks orchestrated by marketers this silly season.
Putting aside for a moment the question of whether launching such promotions several days in advance really qualifies as an April 1 stunt, the issue is whether the marketing programs are designed to make the news media look foolish in an era of growing chatter about “fake news”, or are just an entertainment for consumers.
Foodpanda Singapore issued a media release on Wednesday promoting a “wellness retreat” dubbed The Pandanctuary. The food delivery service cited “UK research” (not referenced) as finding that more than 10,000 people “enjoy dressing up as animals to escape the pressure of modern living”.
In the release, MD Aspa Lekka (her name checks out on Google) says: “With studies showing that dressing up like an animal is scientifically proven to reduce stress levels, we wanted to give our busy customers the opportunity to see what it’s like to live like our ‘chilled out’ mascot for the weekend – the beloved panda.”
The release was distributed by Leon Tan, an account executive with W, whose signature file references an award for “Best new PR consultancy in Asia Pacific”. We sent Tan an email asking him to confirm it was an April Fool’s Day stunt. He didn’t reply.
But the sheer detail of the promotion was impressive enough to fool the likes of mainstream media including the South China Morning Post, which appeared to treat it seriously in an online article.
According to the release, Foodpanda has partnered with Studio M Hotel on Nanson Road to create “the ultimate panda experience, decking out bespoke ‘panda rooms’ with bamboo plants, play ropes and large water bowls”. Catering will be provided by Jamie’s Italian.
The biggest hint of mischief in the campaign was at the bottom of the application form where those interested in participating in the “pandamonium” had until “23.59 on March 31” to apply.
Here’s a video of The Pandanctuary:
A whopper
Meanwhile in Europe, Burger King France and its ad agency Buzzman claim to have teamed up with “experts” to create a signature toothpaste with extracts that recreate the distinctive barbecued beef flavour of its Whopper burger (also note that in western slang, “whopper” means a massive lie).
They even created a realistic 60-second commercial to promote it, in movie-trailer style with the memorable tagline “the Whopper’s taste is so good, some people will do anything to keep it in their mouths”:
As Marketing Interactive reported online, considering April Fool’s Day is this week “we can safely assume this is a joke – but we will report back if we get our hands on a sample”.
