The month of April fools, you’re in for a good round-up of the best campaigns this month!
As consumers, we are inundated by targeted marketing campaigns all day, every day.
But the thing is, there are marketing campaigns—promo codes, marketing emails, social posts, search ads, and more—and then there are MARKETING. CAMPAIGNS.
The ones you talk about or share with others.
The ones that make you see a brand in an entirely different way.
The ones you remember.
When done well, strong campaigns can have a long life, often becoming synonymous with a brand long term.
Now, not everyone is Spotify or has a billboard-sized budget—but we can learn a lot by looking at some of the best marketing campaigns out there.
So today, we’re going to dive into:
What exactly a marketing campaign is.
Five of the most effective marketing campaigns in April 2024.
What is a marketing campaign?
The term “marketing campaign” is quite broad and can mean many things. I’ve defined it here as a project executed to drive a specific action and carried out through one or a variety of channels.
For example, you might run a giveaway marketing campaign and carry it all out on social media. Or you might send out emails about it, write blog posts on it, have an influencer get the word out, and so on.
Marketing campaigns are designed to drive a specific goal, like increasing website traffic, boosting sales on a particular product or service, or getting more people to try out a free tool. They also typically have specific time frames assigned to them in order to accurately test, analyse, and optimise.
Types of Marketing Campaigns:
Product Marketing Campaign
Brand Development Campaign
Email Marketing Campaign
Content Marketing Campaign
User-Generated Content Campaign
Public Relations/Awareness Campaign
Direct Mail Campaign
Affiliate Marketing Campaign
Social Media Campaign
Acquisition Marketing Campaign
Paid Marketing/Advertising Campaign
You can find out more about each type here.
Five of the most effective marketing campaigns in April 2024.
First let’s look at the two of the best April fools campaigns…
Duolingo’s ‘Duolingo on Ice’
The language-learning app’s green bird mascot, Duo, quickly rose to stardom on social media with its Gen-Z humour, unhinged, chaotic energy and outrageous non-traditional marketing tactics.
The app was praised for its 2023 April Fool’s Day campaign ‘Love Language’, which took a hyper-realistic mock approach to reality TV shows like Love Island.
This year, the brand stepped up both the production value and the budget presenting its Disney-style spoof: Duolingo on Ice. Showcased as the world’s first multilingual music, Duo the Owl and friends whisk your family away to a magical four-hour no-intermission skate dancing extravaganza filled with fun original songs like ‘Spanish or Vanish’.
Heinz takes on Rhode
You're getting ready to leave the house. You're already 15 minutes because you're frantically looking for two things: your phone, and your lip balm.
Hailey Bieber, whose brand Rhode Skin has made waves ever since its launch, understood the struggle - and delivered the ultimate solution.
Introducing the new lip balm phone case.
The Lip Case was available to buy for £35 last month and as predicted the sold out in seconds and continues to do so every re-stock.
Heinz didn’t miss with their April fools campaign, they knew this product was massively trending at the moment so they took their shot at re-creating. It was perceived really well, so well that they are still continuing to run the campaign now, one whole month after April fools.
Whilst the marketing world saw some super creative campaigns for April Fool’s Day, we have also seen many other notable campaigns during this month.
Let’s take a look…
Heinz (Again)
Following the Barbie movie craze last year, Heinz has partnered with Mattel to create and launch a new limited edition ‘Barbiecue’ sauce celebrating the brand’s 65th anniversary.
The pink vegan mayo sauce, which gets its colour from a beetroot extract, Heinz and Mattel will be selling the ‘Barbiecue’ sauce on a limited basis with only 5,000 bottles being made available for purchase.
The brands first launched the idea for the sauce on social media last summer after the Barbie movie came out in July, and following the positive reaction received online, they have since worked together on making it a reality.
And, here we are - ‘Barbiecue’
Dreamies are getting human cats involved…
Cat treat brand Dreamies are launching a new social media campaign which involves encouraging humans called Cat to promote the product.
Since 5% of cats don’t go crazy for Dreamies treats, the campaign explores how this 5% must simply be humans called Cat.
Dreamies used social media to invite human Cats to attend the world’s first “Humans called Cat” convention, under the pretence that they’d be celebrating people with their namesake. However, the unsuspecting Cats were actually walking into an experiment.
Whilst this campaign may seem silly it worked.
Kay Brown, European brand director at Mars, added: “This campaign centres on the product truth that cats can't resist Dreamies treats, doing so with a humour that’s unique to this brand. The approach drives intrigue and amusement for cat parents, whilst also reinforcing why Dreamies is the UK’s No.1 selling cat treat brand – it’s irresistible!”
Who doesn’t love Magnum?
Magnum has launched a new 3D OOH billboard in iconic locations across the UK, including Piccadilly Lights, in order to celebrate its new flavour innovations, Euphoria and Chill.
It is the largest ever 3D OOH campaign to appear in the UK, and will run in 324 sites including shopping centres, London’s Piccadilly Lights, Birmingham’s New Street, Manchester’s Printworks and Liverpool’s Media Wall.
Created by MullenLowe, the larger than life billboard aims to provoke broadcast reach and builds on the success of Magnum’s ‘The Pleasure Express’ campaign, to offer audiences an engaging blend of digital and physical worlds.
It kicks off the brand’s summer campaign to launch NPD’s Magnum Euphoria Pink Lemonade and Magnum Chill Blueberry Cookies, with Magnum encouraging Pleasure Seekers to choose which world they want to explore and indulge in delicious layers of all-new extraordinary flavours and tastes.
In the world of marketing, April isn't just about pranks and jokes—it's also a time for some seriously impressive campaigns. We've seen brands pull out all the stops to capture our attention.
These campaigns demonstrate the power of creativity, innovation, and strategic thinking in capturing audience attention and driving brand engagement. Whether it's through humour, partnerships, or bold visual experiences, each campaign leaves a lasting impression, inspiring businesses of all sizes to think outside the box in their marketing endeavours.
Every month we post a campaign round-up on our socials, don’t forget to give us a follow to keep up to date with the Marketing world.