Dive Brief:
- Peeps candy brand has named the Energizer Bunny as its new celebrity creative director to help "drum up new energy" for its 2018 Easter line, a news release announced.
- As part of the April Fools' Day prank, the Energizer Bunny will assume full creative control in Peeps production while maintaining a role as brand ambassador for its namesake battery maker. One of the first tasks as creative director was coming up with fresh looks for Peeps, including by adding sunglasses to make pink Peeps bunnies resemble the Energizer Bunny.
- "It's no surprise that Easter is THE holiday for Peeps, and after 65 years, we needed 'some-bunny' to help re-energize the brand's product offerings and help us power up innovation," the Pink Peeps Bunny, director of bunny operations, said in a statement via a translator. "Who better to help power up innovation than the coolest symbol of long-lasting energy — the Energizer Bunny, plus he kind of looks like me!"
Dive Insight:
It's not unheard of for brands to announce celebrity creative directors to attract interest for product launches or major marketing events. RadioShack, Bacardi, BlackBerry, Bud Light, Polaroid and Wild Turkey have all taken this approach in recent years, per Adweek, tapping stars like Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake and Matthew McConaughey to lend their marketing expertise.
Peeps and Energizer are putting a sillier, parodic spin on the idea by having a fictional brand mascot help refresh the candy maker's product line, and at an opportune time, as Easter falls on April Fools' Day this year. Pairing their bunny mascots and promoting a #Peepsonality hashtag might help the brands generate some social media buzz and drive interest around what's often a key sales point, at least for Peeps.
Over the past few years, marketers have created quirky, clever and funny April Fools' Day campaigns that introduce outlandish or unbelievable new products. Humor often resonates with consumers, but successful campaigns depend on high-quality content and expert delivery. April Fools pranks usually get brands a little extra attention on social media, and maybe some controversy, since chances are that not everyone will get the joke.