From pop-up pizza box to perfume giveaway: Roundup of April Fool's campaigns in HK

It's not surprising to see brands leveraging April Fools' Day as a marketing and PR opportunity as it allows them to go big with bold campaigns that can generate buzz on social media to engage a wider audience. 

From KFC's naughty durian perfume giveaway to Pizza Hut's giant pop-up pizza box, brands in Hong Kong have gone all out to wow citizens with their creative ideas. Overall, the campaigns have seen a spike in conversations by netizens from 26 March until 1 April, according to media intelligence firm CARMA. 

IKEA generated the highest level of engagement among netizens. On IKEA's official Facebook page alone, posts related to someone allegedly defecating in-store amassed over 600 comments by 12:30 PM on 1 April. These posts also circulated widely across various social media platforms.

Although many netizens recognized the incident as an April Fools' prank, they enthusiastically participated by leaving playful and humorous remarks, said CARMA. For example, one commenter jokingly requested IKEA share CCTV footage of the "incident." Before 1 April, IKEA maintained a sentiment of 50.5% positive and 14.3% negative. Post-campaign, this shifted to 48.7% positive and 17.9% negative, showing a slight decline in positivity but increased interaction due to the lighthearted nature of the joke.

Several netizens expressed curiosity about whether KFC was genuinely launching a durian-scented perfume, said CARMA. However, the majority reminded others that it was 1 April, suggesting skepticism about the authenticity of the claim. Before 1 April, KFC had a sentiment score of 17.4% positive and 17.4% negative. Following the campaign, its sentiment shifted to 26% positive and 16.7% negative, indicating an improvement in overall perception.

While Pizza Hut's pop-up store giveaway campaign appeared genuine, some netizens remained skeptical. A few suggested that Pizza Hut consider other locations for future giveaways so more people outside Wan Chai and Central could benefit from the free pizzas, added CARMA. Prior to 1 April, Pizza Hut enjoyed a sentiment of 43.3% positive and 6% negative. After the campaign, the sentiment changed slightly to 42.9% positive and 18.7% negative, reflecting mixed reactions from the public.

Let's take a closer look at some of the brand campaigns in Hong Kong MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has rounded up this April Fool's Day.

1. KFC Hong Kong

KFC Hong Kong is surprising durian lovers in Hong Kong with a perfume giveaway campaign, exclusive for April Fool's Day. Customers will get a durian perfume for free upon purchase of KFC D24 Durian Egg Tart Giftbox on 1 April.

"Building on the success of last year's April Fool's Day stunt—where we gave away durian-scented wash drop —we're launching another gimmicky campaign tied to the durian scent this year," said KFC's spokesperson.

This initiative aims to capture the playful spirit of April Fool's Day, generating excitement and intrigue around the product and offering an immersive durian experience to durian lovers Additionally, it encourages discussions and social media interactions about whether the perfume is genuine or a prank, fostering audience engagement. 

Targeting durian lovers and netizens who like April Fools’ pranks, the campaign aims to promote return of KFC D24 Durian Egg Tart which is durian lovers’ favourite playful/jester image for KFC. The campaign is promoted via press releases, social media and in-store posters.

On 31 March, KFC uploaded a teaser image on Instagram featuring the phrase: "The content may provoke a strong reaction." It also comes with a caption saying: "This time, the game is too big — it might stir up some strong reactions... It's happening tomorrow, so brace yourselves! Just giving you a little heads-up. Stay tuned!"

2. IKEA Hong Kong

IKEA Hong Kong has clarified that the "poop" at one of its store displays was a prank for April Fool's Day after netizens questioned if the "poop" was literally left by a staff. 

Following last year's stunt — a Sundae ice cream with classic flavours of tomato and scrambled eggs, IKEA has taken its April Fools' Day antics to new heights this year.

On March 30, IKEA uploaded a photo featuring a poop allegedly left by a staff at one of its stores. "Last night, we all noticed… something, but we've promptly taken care of it. Big thanks to the helpful IKEA staff! Let's hope that from now on, everyone knows that IKEA does have restrooms."

The post then drew over 12,255 likes, with many users feeling shocked that such things could happen in the city. One netizen even commented: “More and more ridiculous things are happening in Hong Kong.”

A day later, IKEA clarified that the entire incident was just an April Fools’ prank. "There's no way IKEA staff would take a dump at the stores, I believe every one of us will keep our stores clean, our staff is monitoring the area 24/7, I will eat the poop if there's any poop left."

On 1 April, IKEA uploaded another video featuring a staff holding a chocolate-flavoured ice-cream and crushing it. "Real man cashed out! finally small editor made his promise! Crispy texture with a smooth mouthy flavour! Cannot describe but it reminds me of something……"

3. Klook

To ride on April Fool's Day, Klook has unveiled a lineup of new experiences for travellers on social media, including renting the most coveted park bench this Sakura Season in Tokyo; snail trail expedition in Piedmont; sculpting customers in wax at the wax figure museum in London; joining a button crafting workshop in Paris; enjoying a hunky airport transfer experience at Osaka Airport transfers.

Marcus Yong, vice president, global marketing at Klook, said: "Every brand gets to have a bit of fun on April Fools', and this was ours. Blending our love for travel with an imaginative spark, these tongue-in-cheek experiences may be fictional, but the spirit behind them is real. At Klook, we’re all about bringing the world closer one joyful experience at a time."

3. MTR

MTR has wowed commuters with its latest collection of seasoning powder for fries. According to its Facebook, MTR announced the launch of its latest seasoning powder collection, of which the T-flavoured powder is the most recommended. Other items include the orange high speed train-flavoured powder, green train-flavoured powder and airport express-flavoured powder.

The post has garnered 898 likes, with many questioning whether the powder has a rusty taste, while some identified this as an April Fool's joke, a check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to MTR for more information.

4. Oi-Shi-Sushi

Sushi chain Oi-Shi-Sushi announced the return of its "April Fools' Mystery Box" through social media ahead of April Fool's Day. The brand warned customers with a playful disclaimer: "This time we're going all out with pranks! If you're looking for actual food, seriously, seriously, seriously don't order this!"

While the details have not been revealed, the brand released some teaser images featuring several unconventional sushi combinations, including Oreo sushi and popping candy sushi. The limited-edition Mystery Box is available at all stores from 1 to 30 April.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Oi-Shi-Sushi for more information.

5. Pizza Hut Hong Kong

This April Fool's Day, Pizza Hut is hijacking the crazy lunch lines of Hong Kong with its new comical pop-up store to give hungry lunchgoers a timely reminder that they don’t need to waste their time waiting for a delicious lunch.

This comes as the brand realised Hong Kong’s lunch rush is exactly a manic rush. Why? Because if you snooze, you queue. From 12:30pm to 2pm the city’s cafes and restaurants have lines trailing out the door. And with most of the working population only getting a one-hour break, many of them don’t have the time to wait 30 minutes for a table.

And so the Pop-Up Pizza Hut was born to surprise hungry lunchtime queuers with a cheeky reminder that Pizza Hut’s meal-for-one menu always provides ‘Deliciousness without the wait’.

‘Pop-Up’ by name, pop-up by nature, the Pop-Up Pizza Hut is a giant pizza box designed to literally pop-up and transform into a make-shift ‘pop-up store’ in the middle of the city’s busy lunch queues – to surprise and win over hungry stomachs and hearts at the most important time of the working day.

Just like the tasty pizzas it serves, the Pop-Up Pizza Hut is here one minute and gone the next. The activation travels from location to location of Hong Kong’s busiest lunch spots, catching restaurant managers and frustrated lunch lines off-guard with the playful message “What are you waiting for?”. Once sold out, the transportable store moves to a new hotspot with a fresh delivery of pizzas ready to serve.

A simple message boxed up in an unexpected and comically lo-fi experience, the Pop-Up Pizza Hut made its debut on 1 April– a day brands have more chance of getting away with hijacking people from outside rival restaurants. Alongside promoting their meal-for-one menu, it was also used to deliver the news of the brand’s joke-filled three-day promotion of their divisive ultra-pineapple-y ‘Superb Pineapple’ pizza.

“With only a one-hour lunch break ‘what are you waiting for?’… It’s the question no one seems to ask themselves, but it resonates with everyone. QSR in Hong Kong is very competitive and we need to use what we can to our advantage – without terrorising the competition too much. This insight and idea really shows our personality and playful side, and most importantly highlights one of the many ways Pizza Hut always delivers," said Renee Chan, customer experience and marketing director, Pizza Hut Hong Kong.

“When Pizza Hut came calling to revive awareness of their lunch menu, we knew we had to find a disruptive way to differentiate the brand – and that’s exactly what we’ve done. Lunch breaks are always mayhem and for some reason queues have become an accepted feature of Hong Kong lunch culture. It’s a behaviour no one has ever questioned or made a point of, so it was the perfect opportunity to do something unexpected and get the brand noticed and remembered,” said Amy Cheng, creative director, Edelman.

6. TamJai SamGor

TamJai SamGor has dropped a bombshell on 31 March that it will discontinue spicy soup base on 1 April due to the high demand for the broth. It aims to engage TamJai SamGor's fans, particularly young spicy lovers, in an interactive and enjoyable way on April Fool's Day.

According to its Instagram post, TamJai SamGor announced that its spicy soup base is sold out across all of its Hong Kong stores. The post has garnered over 3,000 likes, with many saying they are fine to have non-spicy noodles for a day, while some said the brand's non-spicy soup base is as delicious as its spicy items.

Running from 31 March to 2 April, this campaign goes beyond a single announcement post. TamJai SamGor invites fans to join the fun and share creative “spicy” ways to make request to our Jeh Jehs for spicy soup.

Done in partnership with local creative agency The Noah, Maggie Sze, marketing director of TamJai SamGor, told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: "What surprises await fans when a spicy specialist can’t provide spicy soup? We understand the disappointment of planning to enjoy Mala Spicy Soup for lunch only to find it unavailable. But it’s not the end of the world! You can still “出椒” and creatively request spicy soup in-store and on social media."

The campaign will be amplified via social platforms such as Threads, Facebook and Instagram. "We’re excited to carry forward the spirit of our branding campaign, 'Create 辛！先！敢！' This initiative embodies our commitment to being both ‘spicy’ and ‘bold’. We aim to inspire creativity and confidence in every interaction, inviting our community to join exciting conversation with a little extra spice!" added Sze. 

Join us this coming 17 June for #Content360 Hong Kong, an insightful one-day event centered around responsible AI, creativity VS influencers, Xiaohongshu and more. Let's dive into the art of curating content with creativity, critical thinking and confidence!

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