Shinola’s April Fools’ Day spoof is now a real watch—with a waitlist
New wristwatch, a play on the brand’s best-selling ‘Runwell,’ went on sale to loyalty members Thursday.
Koichiko
It started as an April Fools’ Day social media post: an image of a Runlate wristwatch with the word “LATE” at each hour mark from Shinola, the Detroit-based lifestyle brand.
“We crafted this innovative timepiece with your habitually time-challenged friend in mind—or you (let’s be honest.) Coming soon to Shinola stores never.”
Consumer reaction was swift—and overwhelmingly positive. Responses on Instagram and Facebook included: “Joke’s on you, now everyone wants one, so you’ll need to produce it.”
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Shinola agreed. After expediting production—a process that normally takes 18 months—the brand announced the Runlate on social media on Thursday, offering it to members of “The Foundry,” its most-dedicated shoppers, a day before a planned July 7 wide release.
The Runlate sold out in three hours, according to the brand, which had planned to make 100 of the new watches. A waitlist plan is in the works.
The watch is a spoof of the brand’s best-selling Runwell. Both models cost $595.
“This was our first-ever April Fool’s stunt, and we honestly didn’t know how our loyal audience was going to react,” Philip Pirkovic, director of brand and partnerships, said in a statement issued before the launch. “What we thought was a funny idea quickly resulted in audience demand and an unprecedented amount of engagement on social.”
According to Shinola, its April 1 post resulted in three times the reach, four times the likes, 13 times the shares and five times the comments compared to all of its social posts combined in the first quarter.
“Within an hour of the post going live we knew we had something, and it far exceeded our expectations,” said Pirkovic.
The watch is the latest example of a brand generating marketing and product ideas by monitoring social media reactions. McDonald’s Cactus Plant Flea Market Box, last year’s limited-edition meal created in partnership with the buzzy streetwear brand, was the result of positive consumer reaction to a 2020 tweet: “One day you ordered a Happy Meal for the last time, and you didn’t even know it.
And in 2021, Wisconsin-based Culver's pulled a stunt on its audience on April Fools’ Day. Culver's teased a fried cheese curd sandwich as a joke, but the chain’s diners wanted the sandwich to be brought to life.
The restaurant brand listened, and the sandwich dropped six months later. It was a success, with 136,000 CurderBurgers sold and the product’s return in 2022.
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