That most famous of British institutions, the good old Beeb, have let fly their creative talents again this year for April Fool’s Day. But are flying penguins as funny as pasta growing on trees? Or are we just far too cynical these days to be taken in by such a prank?

It all started in 1957 with the glorious pasta jape. Those of us that weren’t even around in the fifties can probably still remember the footage of peasants eagerly pulling strands of spaghetti from their trees. But why was this such a great gag? It certainly wouldn’t pull the wool over anyone’s eyes today; we’re far too full of Italy’s (arguably) finest export to be fooled by that.

True, in 1957 people didn’t travel so much; we were far less cosmopolitan and intercontinental travel was pretty much the sole preserve of the rich and famous. But surely we knew what spaghetti was.... right?

There is no doubt that one of the reasons why the spaghetti tree hoax was so great is because of where it was reported. It didn’t just rear its head on any old show on the Beeb, oh no. It was straight laced and serious Panorama that breathed life into the story. Bang! Immediate credibility.

However, the main reason why this stunt was so unforgettable was because it was the first of its type. The BBC had never fooled us in this way before.

Think about it. Who was the first person to fly across the Atlantic? For those who don’t know, you should be ashamed of yourselves, it was Charles A. Lindbergh. Who was the second? No? Can’t remember? It was Bert Hinckler.

Strangely, the third person to fly across the pond was even more famous than the first. Why? Because Amelia Earhart was the first woman to do it. Poor old Bert never stood a chance in the fame game, even though he was faster and used much less fuel.

So this ‘being first’ thing is pretty important.

And this is why all subsequent BBC April Fool gags, whilst being perfectly executed, were not as good as pasta farming peasants.

Sure, Smell-o-Vision (1965) was great and very creative; night-singing tree mice (1975) was made acceptable with Sir David Attenborough’s help; Spike Milligan telling us that Dutch Elm Disease was infectious to humans, but immunised the elderly to the common cold (1973) was typically (for Spike) way out there; and Patrick Moore confusing us all with planetary alignments that would result in us being able to jump higher (1976) was.... eeenteresting.

I could go on, as the BBC have created somewhat of a tradition in their April fool’s day projects, but I won’t; although Big Ben being replaced with a digital read out (1980) does appeal to my sense of humour.

The point is that it has all become a little... expected. Those of you that saw this year’s effort, flying penguins that migrate to Africa for the warmer weather, could be forgiven for thinking it a little trite. But imagine if it were the first time that the Beeb had ever fooled us in this way. Would there be just the slightest doubt in your mind? If there were, and it made you stop and consider it for a moment, would it have been worthwhile? Maybe, but it wasn’t, I didn’t and I’m afraid, in my opinion, no.

You see, there’s no substitute for being first. Even if your product or service wasn’t the first, even if it’s in a crowded marketplace, you can raise it above the rest by creating some firsts. If you think about it really hard, think about how to give your brand a first, you can do it. We do it regularly for a number of clients from diverse and often crowded industries.

Somebody once said to me “There are no new ideas, just recycled old ideas.” Rubbish.

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