Today is one of my least-favorite days of the year.
In the United States and a handful of other nations, it is “April Fool’s Day,” a non-holiday when people play practical jokes and hoaxes on others. It has become a day when companies try to gain some free publicity by disseminating fictitious stories on social media and through traditional media.
Ever since a fellow third-grader placed a tack on my seat, I’ve seen pranks and hoaxes as opportunities for mean-spirited, insecure people to try to make themselves look better by causing someone else to look foolish.
I feel fortunate that coworkers at my current employer don’t play April Fools’ pranks on each other. As I’ve told some of them, I don’t appreciate practical jokes or the people who try them.
How do I feel about companies that use this day to promote themselves through some outrageous activity or message? That depends on how well they execute the message.
The best that I’ve seen today are Redbox’s Petbox and CERN’s “discovery that the Force is real.”
These hoax “news items” are humorous, but not at the expense of others. And some effort was made to support the hoax with fun graphics.
Do you think that I should lighten up, or do you agree that most April Fools’ Day pranks and hoaxes do more harm than good?
Redbox created a spoof “Petbox” ad as an April Fools’ Day hoax. No pets were harmed in the making of this spoof.
CERN released a press release stating that its resarchers have used the Large Hadron Collider to confirm the discovery that…the Force is real. Again, I appreciate the humor and the fact that no one’s self-esteem takes a hit because of this hoax.
I agree. I find little humor at the expense of gullible innocents. As for a fool’s day, I prefer to divest my foolish behavior over an entire year than have it all concentrated on one day.