April Fools' Day pranks: McDonald's, T-Mobile and 6 others that tricked customers
Some of the world’s top companies and business leaders couldn’t resist pranking the public Monday on April Fools’ Day.
Businesses have regularly utilized social media to capitalize on April Fools’ Day with viral marketing stunts in recent years. Amazon-owned Audible, SodaStream and McDonald’s are just a few major brands participating in this year’s festivities.
FOX Business breaks down this year’s best business-related pranks below.
Amazon’s Audible targets a new audience
The audiobook and entertainment platform joked that it was launching a new platform “for fish,” noting that “13 out of 27 fish owners reported a positive change in their pets’ behavior” after they listened to Audible.
“Fill your fishes’ three-second memories with the soothing sounds of underwater audio, and then play it again! Because they won’t remember anyway,” the brand said in a fake press release.
Burger King's "Impossible" Whopper
The fast-food chain said it would test out a Whopper featuring the Impossible burger patty, a plant-based meat substitute, at 59 restaurants in the St. Louis area. While the market test is real, Burger King pranked loyal Whopper fans by serving them the meatless version of the meal.
Google Maps lets users play games
In honor of April Fools' Day, Google introduced a feature that turned its "Maps" app into a version of the classic video game "Snake."
HelloFresh's "Unicorn Box"
The meal-kit delivery company unveiled a unicorn-themed box of ingredients, featuring recipes for "Pixie Pizza" and "Fairy Fettuccine." It's probably a good thing the box isn't real, because most of its offerings appear to be composed entirely of sugar.
McDonald's unveils the "McPickle"
The fast-food powerhouse had a little fun with its Australia-based customers by debuting a burger filled almost exclusively with pickles. More than a few social media users were actually excited about the McPickle before learning it was a joke.
Patriots star Tom Brady “retires”
The six-time Super Bowl champion celebrated the launch of his official Twitter account on Monday by “retiring” in his first-ever post. Brady quickly made it clear that he was joking, but the original tweet generated more than 20,000 retweets just two hours after it went live.
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SodaStream turns burps into carbonated water
The company known for its home beverage carbonation systems unveiled the "SodaStreamMe," a faux-invention endorsed by astronaut Scott Kelly. The fictional water bottle uses a person's burps to produce carbonated water.
T-Mobile's portable phone booth
With the introduction of the "T-Mobile Phone BoothE Mobile EditionE," the wireless provider jokingly provided customers with a portable phone booth for private phone calls that is literally "just a cardboard box with a hole in it."
