by LINDSAY LOWE for Parade
For centuries, April 1 has been a day of pranks, tricks and practical jokes played on family, friends and co-workers. The history of April Fools’ Day is longer than you think—the earliest mention of a similar day of hoaxes was in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. How we celebrate April 1 has changed a lot in the intervening centuries. In recent years, the internet and social media have provided a vehicle for more and more elaborate April Fool’s pranks. Many well-known brands spend large chunks of their marketing budgets to promote fake products or services.
Did you hear about that year Burger King launched a new Whopper-flavored toothpaste? We did, too, but careful—it was April Fools’ Day!
Companies love to trick us on April Fools’ Day. Some of them are so slick a brand faces worldwide breakdown and backlash if the prank goes wrong.
Check out these famous April Fools’ pranks before you fall victim to a holiday hoax.
29 Famous April Fools Pranks from Brands
1. WonderPaw
This app helps your dog learn to code. Now he can pay his share of the rent.https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/4AIhx-NcAUo
2. Heavy Bubbles
Be more like Thor.https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/_PtOAnZxB8s
Related: April Fools’ Day Memes
3. Com.Google
Do you ever have a dream where everything is backward and you can’t figure out why? The search gurus at Google turned your nightmares into a reality in 2015. Visiting com.google offered a nausea-inducing mirror image of your search results.
Related: Best April Fools Day Pranks
4. Amazon.com
Remember what Amazon looked like 15 years ago? In 2015, Amazon.com reverted its homepage to the look and feel of the page on April 1, 1999. Even today, it’s amazing to see how web design has evolved over the years.
5. Petbox
Redbox has gone to the dogs. For April Fools’ Day, the kiosk video rental chain the debuted Petbox, an entertainment option for pets. The service featured pet-themed versions of movies and games, including Gone Squirrel, Horrible Possums 2, Pig Hero 6 and Newt at the Museum.
6. Google Maps Pac-Man
In 2015, when you clicked the maps link you started playing the popular ‘80s arcade game Pac-Man on real city streets! Using streets as the maze, the folks at Google brought Blinky, Inky and Pinky to life.
7. Samsung Galaxy Blade Edge
Electronics giant Samsung got the attention of foodies around the world with the introduction of the world’s first smart knife. The Galaxy Blade Edge, a knife with smartphone capabilities, it was touted as the “ultimate cooking companion.”
8. Tinder
https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=linzlowe&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1111721002629660673&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fparade.com%2F559001%2Flindsaylowe%2Fbest-brand-april-fools-day-pranks-all-time%2F&sessionId=5740cc2ddca1d10d92460a60a7645a929ec5f9a2&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px
In 2019, popular dating app, Tinder, shared that they were going to add a height verification to their app. This would make sure that no one can lie about their height by forcing users to be honest, kind of like how they added profile verification (so that you can tell who’s spam). But, alas, this didn’t actually roll out.
9. Google Gnome
Meet Google Gnome, the gnome-shaped personal assistant that can mow the lawn, play fetch with the dog and play Marco Polo in the pool. We’re kind of wishing this existed for real.
10. Petlexa
Amazon announced the arrival of Petlexa, a pet-friendly version of its home assistant device, Amazon Echo. Petlexa allows dogs, cats and other animals to place Amazon orders, activate smart home enabled toys, and it can even count a hamster’s steps as he runs in his wheel.
11. Hu
Hulu poked fun at our ever-shortening attention spans by launching a new service, Hu, that only shows eight-second versions of shows.
12. Hamburger Toothpaste
Burger King kicked off April Fools’ Day early with a goofy Internet ad for Whopper-flavored toothpaste. The new toothpaste takes “the iconic flavor of the Whopper and combines it with active ingredients for optimal teeth and gum hygiene,” according to a release. Yum!
13. Dating for Cows
Here’s a funny one from Turkey Hill: a dating website just for cows. It’s called CowsOnly.com, and it’s ”the world’s first bovine-exclusive dating website, designed to help cows find that special someone.” The company even mocked up an entire prank site, complete with dating profiles for individual cows named Emma, Nelly-Sue and Daisy Mae, to name a few. Hey, cows deserve love too!
14. Say What?
The high-end audio company Master & Dynamic announced the launch of their new MH401C Concrete Over-Ear Headphones, made of solid concrete, and retailing for $399. “Master & Dynamic has consistently chosen the road less traveled. As of today, that road is paved with concrete,” said founder and CEO Jonathan Levine.
15. Real Estate for Cats and Dogs
Trulia announced the launch of a real estate search tool just for pets, complete with detailed listings for a “fancy kitty condo in the heart of Pawspect Heights” outfitted with “floor-to-ceiling carpet material, a self-cleaning litter box, and a meow-controlled catnip dispensary.” And dogs can peruse property details for a $1.449 milion “single-pack home” featuring “three separate playpens and one large alpha room.”
16. Coca-Cola Helium
This new Coke variety includes a small shot of helium that creates a “squeaky high-pitched effect on the drinker’s voice,” the company says.
17. Learn Emoji
French, German, Spanish, and… Emoji? The language learning app Duolingo launched a funny ad for a new feature that helps people become fluent in the complicated language of Emoji.
18. Jelly Beans
The classic baked bean brand launched their newest bean variety: Jelly Beans! This is actually kind of a great idea.
19. A Very Tiny House
Maybe you rent movies from your local Redbox kiosk. Now, you can live inside it, too! At least, that’s what Redbox wanted customers to believe in this April Fools’ prank. They’re advertising a “Teeny-Tiny Entertainment Oasis,” measuring 2,592 square inches, where you can watch as many DVDs as you want without having to deal with inconveniences like cooking and indoor plumbing.
20. A Bus to… Japan?
The Milwaukee County Transit System got a head start on April Fools’ Day this year, offering their customers new, non-stop daily bus service from Milwaukee to Japan.
21. Kids on the Road?
Parents might do a double-take when they see this year’s prank from Kars4Kids, a car-donation-based charity. A joke page on their website touts the benefits of teaching tweens to drive. “Studies show that the confidence gained by learning to drive has a positive impact on a child’s grades,” reads the site. “Children who drive are 89% more likely to graduate middle school on time.”
22. DooDoo Drone
Petco announced the arrival of the DooDoo Drone 9000, a battery-powered drone that can scoop up after Fido and connect with Petco’s DooDoo Drone app.
23. Magical Water
Paris Hilton teamed up with SodaStream to tout a miraculous new kind of sparkling water, NanoDrop. She says it’s 5,000 times more hydrating than regular sparkling water, which means you only need one drop to stay hydrated all day.
24. Frozen Flowers
Iceland, a grocery store chain in the U.K. known for selling frozen foods, rolled out a new line of frozen flowers.
25. A Smart Sofa
Online furniture seller Wayfair launched “Sofia,” the world’s first smart sofa. They say the voice-controlled sofa can check emails, upload photos, change the TV channel, and even self-clean and fluff its own pillows. “Sofia even collects loose change found under the cushions and conventiently rolls the coins,” reads a tongue-in-cheek release from Wayfair.
26. Disappearing Furniture
The home design website Houzz announced a new feature in the Houzz app called Hide From My Room. Just launch the app, hold up your phone up to a piece of furniture you want gone, and poof, it disappears! If only this one were true.
27. Coffee-Flavored Coffee-Mate
“The new creamer is the perfect way to transform your everyday cup with a creamy, roast coffee taste,” the company said in a silly press release.
28. Snoop Frogg
Many organizations sat out April Fool’s Day in 2020 amid the pandemic. One exception was the advocacy group In Defense of Animals, which announced on April 1 that the rapper Snoop Dogg had changed his name to Snoop Frogg to raise awareness about wild frogs being captured and used for dissections in science classes.
29. Pitless Avocados
“Pits are the pits,” says a funny new ad for pitless avocados from food delivery service FreshDirect.
