The fiscal year ends on March 31, making the next day … April 1.

Meaning, our clients had a little leftover money to spend, so we jumped at the opportunity, and pitched them on doing something we knew they weren’t expecting … comedy.

What makes an April Fools’ Day gag work is that it has to be ridiculous enough to stop you in your tracks, and just plausible enough to hold your attention long enough to deliver the gag.

So, after two hilarious years of success with the introduction of V-LCRO Technology®, and Lexus Lane Valet®, we knew that this time we had to be even smarter, so we decided to hide the joke behind what sounded like a legitimate brand collaboration.

Lexus and 23AndMe present Genetic Select®:
The world's first car-buying experience that uses human genetics to craft not just the Lexus of your dreams, but the Lexus of your genes.

As we had done in previous years we created and crafted all the elements you’d expect for a legitimate Lexus product innovation. We had a launch film, a page on lexus.com, explainer videos, a very detailed press release, digital banners, social posts, charts, graphs, and diagrams. Only this time, we went a step further and also created a :30 broadcast spot that ran in the first ad break on Saturday Night Live.

And it worked:

• 3rd most shared Lexus film of all time
• Over 618 Million PR impressions
• 208 Million total views
• Became a top trending film on YouTube
• Over 2 Million social media engagements
• Highest click rate on any targeted CTA for Lexus ever
• Featured in over 200+ news and online publications
• All for a modest investment

Interesting Note:
As with all assignments like this, I made it an all-agency brief. I wanted ideas from anyone, anywhere in any department. And this brilliant idea changed the course of Account Supervisor Andrew Crawford’s career. Today Andrew is an ACD Copywriter.