The Paradigm Insights Series
April Fools’ Day Is All About Laughs—
Unless Your Brand Is the Punchline
Today is April Fools’ Day—the one time of year when pranks are encouraged and deception is downright expected. Brands will roll out their best joke campaigns, tech companies will pretend they’ve invented invisible phones and fast-food chains will claim they’re launching wasabi-flavored milkshakes (spoiler: they’re not).
But while April 1st is all fun and games, the truth is, for brands that live in the land of make-believe, every day is a joke—and not a funny one.
The Cost of Faking It
Consumers today have finely tuned BS detectors. They’ve been burned by brands that promise “sustainable” products while quietly polluting rivers, that champion diversity in ads but not in boardrooms and that shout “customer-first” while slashing service budgets. The result? Skepticism is at an all-time high, and the brands that treat authenticity like a seasonal gimmick (or worse, an April Fools’ prank) are losing the game.
Brand authenticity isn’t just about saying the right things—it’s about living them. It’s about aligning purpose, culture and action so customers don’t have to squint through the fine print to figure out who you really are.
Truth: The Best Marketing Strategy
Here’s the plot twist: authenticity isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a growth strategy. Studies show that 88% of consumers say authenticity is a key factor when deciding which brands they support. Real brands win loyalty while inauthentic ones get abandoned faster than a losing scratch-off ticket.
Take Patagonia for example. They don’t just say they care about sustainability; they’ve built their entire business model around it from using recycled materials to encouraging customers to buy less. And guess what? Their customers aren’t just loyal—they’re devoted.
Compare that to a brand like Victoria’s Secret, which spent years promoting an exclusive outdated version of beauty only to scramble for a rebrand when consumer sentiment shifted. The damage was done. Consumers saw through the sudden pivot and called out the brand’s lack of authenticity.
The Ultimate Brand Hoax? One That Can’t Back Up Its Own Story
Want to play a real April Fools’ joke? Try pretending to be something you’re not. It’s the fastest way to lose trust, credibility and customers.
Instead, brands that stand for something real—ones that take a clear unwavering stance—are the ones that win in today’s market. Because in a world full of noise, the only message that cuts through is the truth.
So, on this April Fools’ Day, while others are crafting fake announcements and jokey campaigns, ask yourself: Is your brand’s truth strong enough to stand the test every other day of the year?
Because the biggest brand prank of all? Thinking you can fake authenticity and get away with it.
Let’s make sure your brand is the one telling the truth, not the joke. Ready to get started? We’re here to listen and help. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation—no gimmicks. Promise.
Brian Fallers
Truelio’s Chief Brand Officer
Founder of Paradigm
