Launching the Amazon Dash Button ahead of the year’s most infamous day for pranks has sparked an internet-wide quest for the truth.
The marketers behind the stunt were sure to create a buzz: launch an almost unbelievable innovation ahead of April Fools’ Day and watch the internet melt. With the new products’ marketing going viral for free, it seems Amazon knew what they were doing.
The Seattle-based e-commerce giant introduced WiFi-enabled buttons for Amazon Prime consumers to press when running low of a particular item. By pushing the button, users will instantly re-order products.
From toilet paper to coffee, the small plastic buttons are wired to the Amazon Prime smartphone app, which will trigger users to confirm purchases of everyday household goods.
“You should think of it as a physical representation of the one-click button from the website,” Kinley Pearsall, an Amazon spokesperson, told MarketWatch.
AdWeek waded into the revelry to ask marketers whether the move was confusing or publicity gold.
“Despite this [confusion], it is a stroke of genius the way it was introduced,” contended David E. Johnson, CEO of Strategic Vision LLC.
“People are talking about Amazon Dash, including people who would not normally be doing so,” he said.
“More importantly, this attention that Amazon Dash is getting is no doubt leading people to check it out on Amazon and also check out the Amazon Prime program that it is offered through.”
Adam Padilla, creative director at BrandFire, agreed: “The April Fools’ strategy was great,” he said.
“At first, you wondered whether it was real. And then when you find out it is, it’s like a gift from God.”
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