We love April Fools’!
Ah, April Fools’! How could we ever get tired of watching pranks in action? Especially brilliant ones that involve technology! On this April Fools’ Day, we thought it’d be the perfect opportunity to show you some of the best pranks people have played on each other with the help of technology. Are you ready for a good laugh?
5. HondaHAIR product release
Honda is known for being a technology leader for cars and robotics. But what would happen should Honda ever turn its attention to hair care? Well, in 2013, Honda showed the world: They’d create a combination vacuum cleaner/robotic hair cutter accessory that plugs into a (Honda) car’s back seat or trunk panels that could “cut hair on the go”. This lighthearted video shows the features of this fake product that allows in-vehicle haircuts. Some people actually fell for it too!
4. YouTube shutting down
Google is known for taking pleasure in tricking everyone, every single year on April Fools’ Day. Among their better pranks was this one. In 2013, after 8 years of existence, YouTube announced it would no longer accept any further video uploads and would be deleting all the content on the platform.
The company’s chief executives explained that the original purpose of the website was to find the “best video in the world”. After 8 years of collecting videos, they were finally ready to shut down the site so as to analyze and judge all the clips. And Google claimed the task was slated to take 10 years to complete (even with 30 000 technicians); Youtube, they said, would only be relaunched in 2023, when the rightful winner was found.
Just to heighten the seeming realism of the prank, the announcement was made on March 31st. YouTube encouraged everyone to watch and upload as many videos as possible before the shutdown. The internet was really busy that day…
3. Google Maps: “Gotta catch em all!”
Google again! In 2014, they joined forces with Nintendo to encourage Apple and Android smartphone owners to find and “capture” 150 Pokémon hidden around the globe using Google Maps. People who could actually complete the challenge would earn the prize of getting a job interview for the post of Pokemon Master at Google. We have to admit, the video is pretty awesome. So did most other people – this announcement got over 16 million views on YouTube. Too bad it wasn’t a real job. This, instead, was the prize…
2. Spacing out at the bus stop
Pepsi MAX decided to spice things up at a busy public waiting bus stop in London as part of its new Unbelievable campaign. The company used Augmented Reality technology to give the illusion that the bus stop advertising board was see-through, when in reality it was a live feed that allowed the pranksters to display some incredibly… fictitious… events happen in real-time.
Onlookers were treated to scenes of alien invasions, giant robots attacking, and even a tiger leaping right at them! Talk about one interesting way to start the day. Watch the video to see the reactions this innovative technology generated.
1. A heated job interview
Finally, for sheer investment into a prank, we really have to love this gem by LG Electronics.
Going to a job interview is always at least a little stressful. Add an epic meteor crash to the formula and stress turns to panic. So of course, that scenario would be great as a prank! LG Electronics put this idea to use promoting its Ultra HD TV. The company disguised an 84” television as an office window, and played video of the city below to simulate a real-life view of the city.
As candidates arrived at their fake job interview, everything looked normal. Minutes into the interview, they saw video of the very realistic sky turning red because a meteor was shown crashing into the city. Multiple cameras were placed around the office to film the hilarious reactions of these poor people getting pranked. It’s a bit cruel, but it’s funny. Take a look! (My friends, please don’t try this on friends!)
Talking about technology advancements
We hope you’re having a great April Fools’ Day and that the videos above made you relive some of the greatest pranks that honour the occasion. It is truly incredible to see what can be accomplished with technology in our day-to-day life. Now, imagine what you can achieve if you make IT innovations such as business automation or wireless optimization a part of your worklife!
On a related (and more serious!) note, Cimpl just released our new product CimplControl, which allows you to take back control of your Shadow IT assets! It’s no joke or prank: Our cutting-edge technology will help you simplify the way you manage your IT by centralizing all your IT usage/cost data in one user-friendly tool. Watch our CimplControl video and see our telecom expense management platform for yourself!