Thought I might start with something light to kick off my new Blog….

Here’s a quick round up of some April fools pranks from various brands, starting with the latest of BMW’s famous press ads:

The ad describes a new ‘Magnetic Tow Technology’ – with the headline, “For once, we’re happy to be behind the competition.”

The copy goes onto explain how the system allows you to lock onto the car in front via an enhanced magnetic beam, allowing you to release your foot from the accelerator and turn off your engine. Obviously not wanting to miss an opportunity to promote a genuine initiative, the technology is linked to BMW’s EfficientDynamics program, which is part of the marque’s real strategy to develop innovations that are more ecologically and financially efficient.

It’s the pay-off of the small details in the copy that I like most about this series (which has been going since 2000). I wonder how many people have previously emailed Uve.Vollenforit@bwm.co.uk, or tried looking up the credentials of Dr Bitt-Fischi and Customer Liaison chief Herr Huh-Huh.

Other brands I noticed getting involved with the pranking this year included:

The Guardian Newspaper – with this announcement of its migration to Twitter.

Youtube - who screened clips upside down.

Google – with seemingly several pranks, including an ‘Autopilot’ email response generator and a 3D version of Chrome. There’s a lot more info on the various Google pranks here.

BBC – who have designed an iPlayer toaster. (I particularly liked the option to burn the iPlayer play button logo into the toast using the “new HD (High Darkness) rendering mode”).

It might not be that bad an idea actually - surely there’s a market for a toaster that allows you to print customised messages for your loved one in the morning…?! It’s the sort of thing you would probably find on this website.