Evil Penevil Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 (edited) If you come across posts about bars closing; prices for anything soaring or plummeting; the Thai government changing rules for foreign visitors; etc., ask yourself: what's the date today? Don't feel bad if you fall for it, every year thousands do. There have been years when millions have believed April Fools' stories. Remember, too, that some members only post wind-ups, no matter what the date Evil April Fools' Day seems like the perfect time for pranks. For big-name brands, the holiday presents an opportunity to have some fun – or to tarnish their image. Still, companies often feel compelled to make their own mark on the day despite infamous instances where April Fools' fakeries have flopped – or worse, backfired. April Fools' Day can give companies and brands an "opportunity to connect with their customers through humor – a great way to show your brand’s personality and fun side. And if done well, it can create a very memorable moment for the brand," Rebecca Rosborough, global chief commercial officer for online brand management platform Frontify, told USA TODAY in the past. "However, it is often hard to do it in a way that will resonate with everyone and not offend anyone," she said. Most April Fools' Day announcements are harmless and simply result in the company or brand getting some attention. A 2022 example of one that did more, Rosborough said, was 7-Eleven's introduction of the Tiny Gulp, a serving of "just 0.7 ounces, it's the perfect little sip," the company said on social media. "While the bit was clearly just for fun, it served to reinforce one of the brand’s iconic offerings," the Big Gulp, Rosborough said. LINK to videos Not all April Fools' go so well. Here's a few examples. Elon Musk: Telsa goes 'bankrupt' Tesla faced a string of bad news including the March 2018 fatal crash involving a Model X SUV driver. It didn't help when Elon Musk tweeted about Tesla going bankrupt. The prank "backfired immediately, causing the stock to drop 7%," Rosborough said. "And although he tried to inject humor in the way he phrased it, his 'Easter Eggs' pun wildly misfired." What might Musk have planned for this year remains to be seen. Last year, Tesla posted on X, the social network Musk bought in April 2022 when it was called Twitter, a 38-second crash test video in which the company's Cybertruck never actually crashed. That led some who have been waiting for the vehicle to arrive to complain in comments, "Yeah, if you could stop teasing the Tesla community and I, that’d be great.” Volkswagen gets a new name – not Ahead of April Fools' Day 2021, German automaker Volkswagen published on its website what was thought to be a draft press release about plans to change the name of its American division to "Voltswagen," the swapping out of the "k" for a "t" as a commitment to electric vehicles. While some Volkswagen officials in Germany were telling The Wall Street Journal the announcement was an early April Fools' Day joke, other officials maintained the change was legit. After the company's stock began to rise, and VW's communications teams and journalists wasted a lot of time, the company confessed the whole thing really was a joke. Volkswagen's prank is an example of one that truly went too far, said Columbia Business School professor and corporate strategy expert Rita McGrath, who talked to USA TODAY in 2022 for a story about April Fools' pranks. "(It) was a mistake," she said. Target limits self-checkout to 10 items or less: What shoppers need to knowIKEA slashes prices on products as transportation and materials costs easeBabies R Us opening shops inside about 200 Kohl's stores across the countryWalmart expands same-day delivery hours: You can get products as early as 6 a.m.Get your 'regency' on: Bath & Body Works unveils new 'Bridgerton' themed collection The Taco Liberty Bell: April Fools' prank rang true, for awhile Taco Bell cooked up an April Fools' surprise in 1996 running full-page advertisements in The Philadelphia Inquirer and other newspapers including The New York Times and USA TODAY about its purchase of the Liberty Bell – and renaming it "the Taco Liberty Bell" – to "help the national debt." Members of Congress called the National Park Service to confirm the deal was not real, The Washington Post reported. The park service held an impromptu press conference to deny the deal, too. After Taco Bell admitted the whole thing was a hoax, the company offered to donate $50,000 towards preservation of the bell. The hijinks paid off. The free publicity generated by the incident was worth $25 million in advertising and sales at Taco Bell increased by $500,000 and $600,000, on April 1 and April 2, compared to the prior week, according to the Chicago Tribune, which also ran the ad. Google: April Fools' Day email 'Mic Drop' Historically, Google had been an active participant in April Fools' pranks until the 2020 with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, tech news site 9to5Google noted. The company may have wished it hadn't introduced a new Gmail feature called the Mic Drop in 2016. The feature made "it easier to have the last word on any email," Google said, by adding a GIF of a yellow animated minion (from the animated "Despicable Me" and "Minion" movies) dropping a microphone. But a bug added the Mic Drop to many emails unintentionally and it had to be turned off. "We love April Fools jokes at Google, and we regret that this joke missed the mark and disappointed you," the company said at the time. Richard Branson's UFO landed ... with a thud for police The billionaire and founder of The Virgin Group, who in 2021 got to travel into space, has enjoyed April Fools' pranks for years, too. His most famous one: the 1989 flying of a "UFO," actually a hot air balloon with flashing lights, over London. Police were mobilized and the army had been alerted, Branson said in a blog post from 2021. When it landed – the day before April Fools' Day because of weather, The Christian Science Monitor reported – a door opened and someone wearing an E.T. costume walked out. "The police surrounded us and then sent one lone policeman with his truncheon across the field to greet the alien," Branson wrote. Initially, "the police didn’t see the funny side of it and threatened to arrest us for wasting their time," Branson wrote. "Thankfully, they soon joined in the fun and left with smiles on their faces." Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider. Edited April 1 by Evil Penevil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coxyhog Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 There's a good one in the Telegraph today about an old law in Germany that will stop Harry Kane playing in the Euros(in Germany). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightcrawler Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 April Fool or not? I can't decide 😁 https://aseannow.com/topic/1323760-thai-officials-announce-innovative-expat-health-measure/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeb Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 (edited) Lead story - https://www.stickmanbangkok.com/weekly-column/2024/04/6000-baht-please/ I should have twigged yesterday - sunday afternoon is when he normally puts new articles up. I just occasionally have a look. Yesterday, Sunday, had a notice - this weeks article is put off until monday - have easter commitments....etc Edited April 1 by Zeb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forcebwithu Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 30 minutes ago, Nightcrawler said: April Fool or not? I can't decide 😁 https://aseannow.com/topic/1323760-thai-officials-announce-innovative-expat-health-measure/ Amazing the number of posters that did catch on to what day this is. Just proves once again how many people don't use critical thinking skills. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Penevil Posted April 1 Author Share Posted April 1 11 hours ago, Zeb said: Lead story - https://www.stickmanbangkok.com/weekly-column/2024/04/6000-baht-please/ Some years ago, when April 1 last fell on a Sunday, Stickman had an article about the Thai government forbidding foreigners to take Thai women back to their hotel rooms. Many, many of his readers as well as posters on the various boards were fooled. Some posters with a sense of humor "doubled down" on the Stickman article and claimed to have seen the official announcement of the hotel ban, which lent credibility to the Stickman report. One explanation of why so many were (are?) gullible is that Stickman's column and the boards are widely read internationally and April 1 is not a big thing in some countries. A lot of people outside the English-speaking countries are unaware of the April 1 tradition of fake stories in the media. Evil 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 1 hour ago, Evil Penevil said: Some years ago, when April 1 last fell on a Sunday, Stickman had an article about the Thai government forbidding foreigners to take Thai women back to their hotel rooms. Many, many of his readers as well as posters on the various boards were fooled. Some posters with a sense of humor "doubled down" on the Stickman article and claimed to have seen the official announcement of the hotel ban, which lent credibility to the Stickman report. One explanation of why so many were (are?) gullible is that Stickman's column and the boards are widely read internationally and April 1 is not a big thing in some countries. A lot of people outside the English-speaking countries are unaware of the April 1 tradition of fake stories in the media. Evil True, and then there's the fact that Stickman isn't now and hasn't been for years actually in Thailand. He gets his information from scouring fora and people with as suspect credibility as himself. But photos are good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Penevil Posted April 1 Author Share Posted April 1 20 minutes ago, Trip said: True, and then there's the fact that Stickman isn't now and hasn't been for years actually in Thailand. He gets his information from scouring fora and people with as suspect credibility as himself. Just to make things clear- both April 1 Stickman columns were deliberate pranks on his part. He posted the columns in the April 1 tradition of fake news. Evil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 29 minutes ago, Evil Penevil said: Just to make things clear- both April 1 Stickman columns were deliberate pranks on his part. He posted the columns in the April 1 tradition of fake news. Evil I know. It's one of his things. My take is that those tongue in cheek musings aren't that much more accurate than his regular dribble. I do like the photos though, even though he doesn't take those now either since he's seldom in Thailand. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Dangleberries Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 (edited) 23 minutes ago, Trip said: I know. It's one of his things. My take is that those tongue in cheek musings aren't that much more accurate than his regular dribble. Yep agree. The best April Fool pranks come from long established "serious" publications and businesses slipping in a story that might appear real at first read before that "hang on a minute moment" but if you are always publishing suspect stories the prank just loses any intended impact .. Sort of like The Grauniad posting a false story blaming The Tories for something bizarre and nobody noticing that it is a wind-up .. EDIT = Sorry for inferring that The Grauniad is a "serious" publication too !! Edited April 2 by Derek Dangleberries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeb Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 Stick getting push back from some Bangkok Bars owners who complained and last weeks article was taken down, FFS - April Fools The article suggesting price increases in Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy was an April Fools’ joke. It has been removed, and we sincerely apologize if it caused any offense or harm. We understand the importance of responsible reporting and will work to ensure our future content is accurate and considerate. https://www.stickmanbangkok.com/weekly-column/2024/04/6000-baht-please/ Stick said the following in this weeks column - Closing Comments I like to be open with readers, hence the following comments. The opener of last week’s opener was an April Fool’s Day joke, something this site has a rich history of, and something many readers have come to expect. I woke up this morning (Sunday, April 7) to a flurry of messages to learn that last week’s entire column had been removed overnight. A message about “responsible reporting” was inserted in its place. It would seem that some precious bar owners were upset by the column, notwithstanding that they knew it was an April Fool’s Day joke. They complained to the site’s owners and the column was removed. While I respect the fact that the site owners ultimately have the final say on what is or is not published, I disagree with the decision to remove the entire column. https://www.stickmanbangkok.com/weekly-column/2024/04/the-white-man-keeps-fxxxing-up/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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