April Fool’s: Golden State Warriors Given a “Lyft” With Epic Prank
Last week Lyft sponsored an April Fool’s Day prank pulled off by Golden State Warriors star Andre Iguodala, targeting teammate Festus Ezeli. In an elaborate setup, Ezeli gets into a Lyft vehicle which has a bunch of hidden cameras. The driver turns the radio to a talk show which breaks the (false) news that Ezeli has been cut from the team. At that moment, the rest of the team starts texting Ezeli, offering their condolences and apologies. After a few very awkward minutes, the driver pulls over and Iguodola gives Ezeli some cake and balloons — Ezeli promptly tries to throw the cake back in his face.
To be honest, I’m not sure what to think of this prank. While elaborate, it seemed a bit over the top, and while clearly meant to be playful, was almost mean. I wasn’t the only one who had that reaction.
That said, it was a good move for Lyft. Their business goal was undoubtedly related to branding — and it probably was effective in reinforcing their brand image as a playful alternative to Uber while also helping them move past those ugly pink ‘staches.
Its execution was also excellent — the Lyft drivers were at the center of the prank. It certainly hits on emotions, tells a great story, and is very timely given the Warriors’ success — they are just 4 wins away from completing a record-setting NBA season.
It is difficult to gauge how successful the campaign was — the YouTube video has around 2 million views, which was lower than I would have expected. However, it was also big news and headlined on several dozen sports news websites. It is unclear whether or not the links from those pages were being counted in that view count.
