Sucked in by Jamie Oliver’s ‘1 ingredient’ book launch? Or perhaps convinced that an Aussie maternity hospital really was about to start microchipping newborns?
Yep, unless you were living under a rock, you probably realised that Sunday wasn’t just chocolate egg day.
It was also April Fool’s Day and the interwebs were awash with trickery (some more convincing than others!)
We’ve rounded up the best of the best to help ease that long weekend/sugar come down.
The Best April Fool’s Pranks From Around The Web
1. Mum Central ‘Baby Microchipping’
We’re kicking off our best pranks list with our own April Fool’s Day prank! The April 1 post shared the news on the Mum Central Facebook page that a South Australian maternity hospital was offering frazzled parents the chance to have a microchip put in their newborn babies to make parenting easier.
The post, which was shared more than a thousand times, eventually revealed itself as a hoax. Though anything that makes parenting a little bit easier might’d be THAT bad of an idea (kidding)!
2. Ikea’s elegant and efficient SKÄMT range
Ikea USA fused their ingenious product design with their iconic style to come up with their SKÄMT range. Featuring six versatile technology-obsessed products, like the toilet table reader, the dog collar selfie stick and the phone pillow, readers were more than ready to purchase. But their final photo in the collection reveals all – SKÄMT, after all, means joke.
3. Primo’s Baconator
It’s just not April Fool’s without a good bacon gag. After all, bacon is life. And bacon that comes out of a half toaster/half coffee machine device is even better. Meet Primo Quickies™, the latest Bacovation that gives you hot, crispy bacon in under a minute.
Of course, Primo had to let us in on the joke..eventually.
Well played, Primo. Well played.
4. Farmers Union Ice Coffee in a Tin
Another joke that got our tummies rumbling was Farmers Union coffee in a tin. We know it’s not real, but, seriously, WHY NOT???
https://www.facebook.com/farmersunion/posts/10156569872227345:0
5. Kmart’s Afterpay
Kmart and Afterpay. A match made in heaven. And one that we all would welcome with open arms. But, we will have keep waiting after it was revealed the Kmart/Afterpay idea was nothing more than an April Fool’s trick.
https://www.facebook.com/aussieas1/posts/2141689539400713
Damn you April Fool’s!
6. Mocka Australia – The Parent Time Out Chair
Now this is one we can REALLY get behind (and wish actually existed!). Aussie online furniture company Mocka debuted their brand new product on April 1. The parent time out chair promises to be the stress levelling game changer you need. Enjoy the comfort of an armchair, but in a child-proof, sound-proof box. Take our money now!
Though well aware that it was ‘a joke’, plenty of parents were all for the idea:
We think they may have found their next best seller!
7. Jamie Oliver’s ‘1 Ingredient’ Cook Book
What could be easier than five ingredients? Well that’s obvious, one. Jamie Oliver jumped on the April Fool’s bandwagon with the ‘release’ of his new book, ‘1 ingredients’ with the tagline; ‘Cooking just got easier.’ Taking to Instagram to promote the product, he promises that it’s ‘quicker and easier’ and ‘the future of food.’ Good one Jamie.
8. Heinz ‘Chocolate Mayonnaise’
What do you get when you infuse your favourite sandwich spread with some Easter cheer? Why chocolate mayo of course! Those clever marketers at Heinz UK pranked mayo fans worldwide with their video for [Seriously] Good CHOCOLATE Mayonnaise.
“Heinz chefs have been working on a top-secret recipe for Easter,” the post on their Facebook starts. “Bringing together the finest Belgian dark chocolate with one of the nation’s favourite sauces.” While plenty were well aware they were having their legs pulled, there was some serious interest in this becoming ‘a thing’. Chocolate mayo? We’re equal parts disgusted and intrigued.
9. ING ‘Budget Smugglers’
Only in Australia! ING decided to tackle a uniquely Aussie conundrum on April Fool’s Day; what to do with your cash and cards while swimming? Introducing Budget Smugglers, your new coastal companion with ‘waterproof card pouch, smartphone and AI enabled polymer membrane and magnetic lock.’ My dad, an avid fan of the budgie smuggler, would no doubt be thrilled that technology has taken such a leap forward. Sadly, this is just a pipe dream.. for now.
10. Virgin Australia ‘Spin Class’
Why sit on your arse while in the air when you could be spinning off the calories from the pre-flight vino! Virgin Australia kicked things into the stratosphere with their take on in-flight fitness. “Today we’ve launched Virgin Australia Spin Class, the world’s first in-flight cycling studio. Spin Class allows guests to work up a sweat in the sky on long haul flights, and even earn Velocity Frequent Flyer Points for every kilometre they cycle!”
Despite the (pretty obvious) safety and space issues with the plan, the video itself was so schmick that there were plenty of believers;
Very clever Virgin.
11. Tip Top Instant Fairy Bread
Now here’s an April Fool’s day prank we really wished was a reality. Tip Top Instant Fairy Bread!
Too long have we toiled, buttering slices of bread and sticking 100s &1000s to it while simultaneously scattering them all over the kitchen. It seems plenty of Aussies share our feelings:
Let’s hope they take the feedback onboard!
12. Zoos Victoria ‘Virtual Reality… For Cats’
Why should humans have all the fun? That’s the line Zoos Victoria took with their April Fool’s Day ‘Virtual Reality For Cats’ post. Both the ‘Cat VR product Designer’ and ‘Content Director’ feature in the video about expanding the horizon for indoor cats. Not actually such a bad idea, from a conservation perspective anyway!
13. Dairyland ‘Sparkling’ Milk
Fizzy milk? Yah, that one can stay in the realms of fantasy. American dairy company Dairyland provided that disgusting visual thanks to their April Fool’s post about the world’s first carbonated milk.
“The great taste of carbonation is now available in Dairyland Milk. Sparkling Milk is available in a range of sizes and is perfect for a party, a picnic or as a healthy substitute for soda.” Thanks Dairyland, we’ll just be over here, vomiting, in a corner.
14. Disney in Sydney
Say WHAAAAAAT?! In one we wish actually had some basis in truth, The Urban List Sydney almost went viral with their post about Disneyland opening in the Sydney suburb of Coogee, generally more known for its proliferation of Irish backpackers and NRL players up to no good.
While some were kind of convinced, the majority saw straight through the ruse, largely due to the impossibility of fitting anything bigger than a shoebox into the already overcrowded Sydney ‘burbs.
15. P&O Cruises ‘Walk The Wire’.
P&O Cruises opened with an absolute cracker on April 1. Posting on Facebook, the cruise giant announced a new experience for 2019. ” In 2019, we have a new experience that is sure to get your adrenalin going… Walk the Wire, the world’s first tightrope walk between Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden”.
The video, which racked up over 85k views, showed a woman walking between cruise liners, clearly living her best life. While a number of people immediately sensed that mischief was afoot, plenty were keen to register their interest for the experience. P&O later followed up with a video which showed the behind-the-scenes of how the original post was made and captioned it, “NOT coming in 2019.’ Well played P&O, well played indeed.
What was your favourite April Fool’s prank? Share it with us in the comments below or on Facebook!
1 Comment
Dairyland is hardly original, carbonated milk drinks are a thing. I know of Calpico and Milkis off the top of my head.
But I was caught out by the microchipping, for some reason medical microchipping has come back into the spotlight so I’ve been seeing articles about it popping up over the past month. It seemed like the kind of dumb thing that would happen.