PR Pranks for April Fools’ Day

I’m not a big prankster, but I have been on the receiving end. Working in wine PR, I sometimes wish people were joking.  For example: When a shipment of a new wine vintage is stuck in customs and your media tasting is the next day, that’s got to be a joke, right? Sadly, it never is.

If you’re planning to prank your wine PR colleagues today, check out my list of office-appropriate lies below. All of them are too good to actually be true, but your coworker may believe you for a hot second.

1. “Your new client has national distribution.” In wine PR, everyone and their mother wishes their products were available nationwide (as in every single state). In reality, the brand is probably only available in markets like New York, Chicago, and L.A. We all know that you can’t play the “available everywhere” card when pitching that client to truly national media outlets.

2. “I heard your client needs help with an issue,” said on a weekday morning. Have you ever strolled into the office on a Wednesday after a good night’s sleep and your co-worker tells you calmly that your client is facing an issue? Probably not. Crises just don’t happen during the week, and certainly not during normal business hours. It’s way more likely to be Christmas Eve, July 4^th weekend or Friday at 5 pm.

3.       “All event collateral made it back.” No matter how impeccable your record keeping and shipping notes are something always goes missing – it’s the Bermuda Triangle. If none of your banners were left behind it would be heaven on earth.

4. “I got your voicemail and it sounds really interesting.”  Only journalists can play this prankster card, and any PR pro will fall out of his or her chair with that line. We always ponder how long it takes journalists to delete a voice message – is it 1 second or 2?

5.       “Nobody on the mailing list lives in a control state.” If only life were that simple. In reality, the odds are never in your favor when trying to send wine across state lines.  I’m waiting for the day when I don’t have to hunt down a specific vintage in a controlled state (Pennsylvania being my favorite). It’s especially sad when you have two cases of the right vintage just sitting at your desk.

What’s your favorite April Fools’ jokes for PR pros? Let us know and leave in the comments section. Happy April Fools’ Day!