Many ordinary products carry small jokes and secret messages that most buyers never notice: a line printed under a carton's flap, a pattern that appears only in the rain, a note moulded into a circuit board. Designers call them Easter eggs, borrowing the term from video games, and they reward the rare customer who peels back a label or opens up a gadget.
The twenty finds below were photographed by customers and shared on Reddit, Imgur and Instagram, many of them in the r/IRLEasterEggs community around 2017 and 2018. They range from playful care labels and drinks packaging to messages that only an engineer with a screwdriver would ever see. For each one you will find what the message says, where it was hidden and, where we could check it, who made the product.
Hidden touches like these cost almost nothing to print, but they do something advertising struggles to do: they make a customer feel personally noticed. That is why a single photo of a cheeky carton flap can travel further online than a paid campaign. Scroll on to see how many you already own without knowing it.
Where product Easter eggs come from
The name comes from Atari's 1980 game Adventure. Its programmer, Warren Robinett, secretly added a room showing the words "Created by Warren Robinett", because Atari did not credit its developers. When players found it, Atari kept it, and Steve Wright, a director in Atari's consumer division, coined the name Easter egg. Hardware makers soon did the same: the design team of the Commodore Amiga 1000 had their signatures moulded inside the case, and several early Macintosh models stored photos of their developers in memory.
Physical products followed. Brands with a cheeky voice, such as the British smoothie maker Innocent, became known for jokes in unexpected places on their packs, and clothing makers discovered that a care label is a tiny advertising space almost everyone reads at least once.
Clothing labels with a sense of humour
A Top Gear T-shirt that was "tested on animals"
This official BBC merchandise label, dated 2005, says the shirts were tested on animals and did not fit. It matches the dry humour of the motoring show itself and turns the usual cosmetics warning into a punchline. The poster shared it during a broader online thread about funny shirt tags.
"Remove child before washing"
A label in a child's polyester top, size 3 to 4 years, lists the standard washing symbols and then adds a line reminding parents to take the child out first. It is one of the most widely copied care-label jokes and turns up on many brands of children's clothing.
"Don't slap pandas"
Between "cool iron" and "drycleanable", this care label slips in an instruction not to slap pandas, complete with a crossed-out panda symbol among the usual wash icons. Most people would read straight past it, which is exactly why it delights those who notice.
A tailor's message inside a suit pocket
Spencer Hart, a tailor at 36 Savile Row in London, stitched a cheeky wish into the inside-pocket label of this suit, alongside spaces for the client's name and order number. The innuendo is only visible to the wearer. It is a good example of a luxury brand using humour without putting it on the outside.
A tag that talks back
This care label begins with a blunt, profanity-laced compliment telling the wearer they are a princess, before switching to normal washing instructions. Brands that sell to younger shoppers sometimes use this kind of attitude on purpose. Because of the strong language the photo is shown blurred; tap or click to view it.
Care instructions for a swim nappy
The label on this baby swim nappy from Beau & Belle Littles gives real instructions first, including knocking solids into the toilet before washing. It then offers mock instructions "for worst results", such as boiling it with white shirts. Parents dealing with nappies at the pool will appreciate the honesty.
Notes on food and drink packaging
Inside a pack of sweets
Open this bag of wild strawberry gourmet sweets from London fully and the inner flap compliments you for being curious. Messages printed inside the packaging only reach people who look closely, which makes them feel more like a private joke than marketing.
A sloth under a kombucha label
Townshend's Tea Company hid a cartoon sloth under the peel-back section of its bottle labels. On one bottle it says you found it and it is now your turn to hide; on another it confesses it was cuddling your thumb the whole time. The photo combines two finds posted separately on Reddit.
NoWeAreBothGreat , smiletaytay77
"Stop looking at my bottom"
Innocent prints small jokes in odd corners of its cartons, and this one sits on the folded base of a coconut water pack. Anyone who tips the carton up to read the barcode or the Tetra Pak logo gets told off. It is typical of a brand that has made playful packaging part of its identity.
A mountain inside a Swiss water bottle
The base of this bottle of Valais mineral water is moulded into the shape of a mountain peak, visible through the water. It echoes the Matterhorn, the 4,478-metre peak in the canton of Valais that also appears in the logo printed on the label, and has featured on Toblerone bars since 1960.
Family owned, operated and argued over
The rim of this Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing can carries a self-mocking twist on the usual "family owned" boast. Sierra Nevada was founded in Chico, California, by homebrewers Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi and remains privately held, with Grossman as owner. A regular drinker of the beer only spotted the line after many cans.
A fortune on a pancake bag
Krusteaz printed a tiny line on its pancake mix bag predicting pancakes in your future. Given what is inside the bag, it is one prophecy that is very likely to come true.
Messages hidden in hardware
Inside a gaming headset
When this owner opened a headset to replace a damaged cord, the circuit board greeted them with a printed note calling them a nosey little one. Engineers often add initials or jokes to the silkscreen layer of a board, knowing only repairers will ever see it.
Morse code on a Jeep footrest
The dots and dashes on the dead pedal of this Jeep spell out "sand snow rivers rocks" in Morse code, a nod to the terrain the vehicle is built for. Jeep owners have reported many similar small motifs hidden around recent models, which has turned spotting them into a hobby.
Smiley faces under keyboard knobs
Pull the rotary knobs off this electronic keyboard and you find little smiley faces printed on the panel underneath. They are visible only during cleaning or repairs, a small reward for anyone who takes the instrument apart.
A Star Wars warning on a circuit board
Etched into the copper of this green circuit board is a warning to Luke not to be seduced by the dark side. Hidden lines like this are a long tradition among electronics designers, much like the signatures moulded into early home computers.
A cable that doubles as a restraint
The fine print along this FireWire cable claims it can hold up to three burglars until the authorities arrive, if hog-tied properly. The poster's comment compared it to something only Jason Bourne could manage. Please do not test it.
Surprises in unexpected places
A raincoat that blooms in the rain
This plain blue raincoat reveals a darker floral pattern wherever it gets wet. Hydrochromic or water-revealing prints use special inks that change appearance when damp, so a grey day literally brings out the flowers.
A wine box that answers back
The bottom of this case of Malbec reads "Open other end, Einstein", printed upside down for anyone who starts at the wrong side. It is practical as well as funny, since opening a wine case from the base can send bottles sliding out.
Hotel lotion with a story
Aloft hotels printed bilingual instructions on this small lotion tube telling guests to apply it to any skin that recalls the pet iguana a cousin had in seventh grade. Odd, specific jokes like this make cheap amenities memorable, and guests often photograph them.
How to spot hidden messages yourself
- Look underneath and inside. Carton bases, inner flaps and the back of peel-off labels are favourite hiding spots.
- Read the care label fully. The joke is usually the last line, after the symbols.
- Check anything you take apart. Circuit boards, battery compartments and car trims often carry engineers' notes.
- Get things wet or look at them in odd light. Special inks, embossing and moulded shapes only show up in certain conditions.
For brands, the lesson is simple: a small, kind joke placed where only an attentive customer will find it can create more goodwill than a slogan on the front.
Sources: photos by the Reddit, Imgur and Instagram users credited under each picture; Wikipedia: Easter egg (media); Wikipedia: Matterhorn; Wikipedia: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.
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