The Sad Retreat of April Fool’s Day and What It Reveals About Our Culture

The week of April Fool’s Day, I regularly look forward to reading about all the brands taking risks, exploring their fun sides and doing something with personality. This used to be one of my favorite weeks to read all the advertising trade publications. This year wasn’t as much fun. Much of the coverage seemed to center on spotlighting the cringiest pranks or the weirdest ideas or even offering a historical look back at failed efforts from previous years. So much negativity. Hardly any brands this year seemed willing to explore their humorous side and just commit to a good creative joke.

It is possible that they are reading the room, and it just doesn’t feel like the right time to be joking around. Or perhaps cultural polarization is making brands more afraid of any sort of public criticism. Regardless of the reason, this feels like a sad reflection of the media environment right now if joking around suddenly feels off limits. What do you think? If you are a fan of brand jokes and humor in general, did this year’s April Fool’s Day moment feel different than past years?