The Top 8 #AprilFools Emails

April Fools’ Day is one of marketing’s cheesiest holidays. This year was no different. Google pretended to invent a new kind of “smartbox” for direct mail and flipped the search bar on Google.com around. Microsoft pretended to return to BASIC for a “clean and simple” design. Honda debuted a selfie-taking rearview mirror. At Movable Ink, we debuted our [contextually relevant fireball technology](https://movableink.com/blog/movable-ink-introduces-a-new-solution-for-contextually-relevant-red-hot-mobile-emails).April Fools’ email marketing campaigns came pouring into inboxes. We sorted through a lot of the holiday’s best emails and came up with eight that really stuck out.Without further ado, here are our top eight April Fools’ emails:**1\. Overstock.com** **** With a subject line of “Are You The Victim of an April Fool’s Prank?”, Overstock.com decided to get really meta – rather than trying to prank customers who had been fooled on April Fools’ Day, the company created an email assuming customers had already been pranked.Aside from a special discount to heal the pain, Overstock also offered some April Fool’s products like a “Boyfriend Pillow” and a “Whale Tea Leaf Infuser.”**2\. Gap** **** The Gap also took a meta approach. The subject line of “Ha Ha” led recipients to a calendar where April 1st was marked as a day for more shopping and less pranking.**3\. Banana Republic******Banana Republic chose a similar route, going meta and figuring that customers might be looking for deals instead of pranks.The brand opted for an eye-catching GIF that turned the mirrored letters of “This Is Not a Joke” forwards and backwards again.**4\. Bonobos** **** Bonobos decided to run with a special product giveaway – a mini-pony. With a link to a live feed of an actual mini-pony (that told people it was all an April Fools joke), this email saw quite a bit of engagement… and a few complaints from people who were concerned that a mini-pony was actually headed to their doorstep.**5\. Boden** **** Boden added content marketing to the mix by offering users a joke email about recalling a dress for an “inappropriate” image and having a call-to-action for recipients to read the full story.**6\. Redbox** **** Redbox sent out an email campaign introducing a brand new product: the Petbox. The company also included a link to Twitter so recipients could share their views on this particular innovation. With some pet-related movie titles, Redbox created an April Fools’ email that had got a lot of engagement on Twitter as well.Like other brands, Redbox also included a real coupon in the joke email.**7\. Zoro** **** Dogs seemed to be a big part of April Fools emails. Industrial supplier Zoro.com sent an email about a new product line, Zoro Fido, targeted specifically for canines – from woofing nails to exta-ruff sandpaper.**8\. Uber**Uber decided to go with cats instead of dogs. With the UberLIONS service, Uber promised to deliver on-demand lion cubs to people who wanted to hang out with lions for the day.This email helped raise awareness for a real cause being promoted by National Geographic to help save wild cats.**Personalizing with Personality** April Fools’ Day is one of the few days of the year when brands risk showing a little personality to their customers.Sometimes, it seems like this tone of voice – and the creativity that can come into play here – is also one of the few days of the year when companies can break the mold and create different kinds of emails.This doesn’t have to be a once-a-year thing. Email is a direct link to your customers and, if you take a chance and share a joke with them, they’re likely to feel a stronger connection with the brand in the future.**_[](http://bit.ly/1Ij3DoQ)You’ve seen the prank emails – what about brands that are doing responsive emails? Watch our webcast and download our slides, “[9 Ways You Can Build Effective Mobile Email Marketing Campaigns](http://bit.ly/19B3wt9)” to learn nine different ways brands are using responsive email strategies today._** **_[](http://bit.ly/1Ij3DoQ)_**