8 April Fools’ Jokes by S’pore Brands That Have Confused (or Amused) People Yesterday

Last Updated on 2019-03-27 , 5:54 pm

It’s not every day that you can post fake news in Singapore without facing the consequences, but 1 April is that day.

Posting a legit real product, or an important announcement, online on the first of April is the worst PR decision because most likely, 99% of the comments would go, “April Fools ah? You think I stupid?”

And every year, there’re some good ones posted on the Internet.

Here’re a few of them based on how viral they’ve gone in Facebook, starting from the least shared one to the most shared one.

Starbucks Singapore (42 Shares)

Starbucks tried to be cheeky this April Fools’ Day, but unfortunately, it didn’t seem to work simply because it’s just too obvious. I mean, Starbucks selling matchmaking services? That’s like Starhub or M1 selling electricity: anyone would be able to see through the joke!

At merely 42 Shares, Starbucks should just stick to giving 1-for-1 drinks. That’ll garner thousands of Shares.

But hey, at least they tried, okay?

Ngee Ann Poly (115 Shares)

I actually think this is pretty good, but people don’t seem to agree, with only 115 Shares.

It’s merely an image of a building and these words:

Ngee Ann Poly is going green! In a bid to raise awareness about climate change, NP is adopting No Air Con Monday!

Every Monday, all facilities, including lecture halls, classrooms and common spaces such as OurSpace, will stop air conditioning for the entire day. Fans will be placed at the locations for ventilation.

Let’s enjoy No Air Con Monday so we can make the world a better place for everyone! #xtragoodvibes #ngeeannpoly

As an stupid idiot, I would have believed this, given that climate change is real.

But nope, it’s fake.

At least it fooled me.

Ikea Singapore (147 Shares)

When you think April Fools’ Day, you think of Ikea. The restaurant–I mean, furniture store has come out with a few viral pranks, from the headline-grabbing woman who made an Ikea outlet her house to them transforming their playground for children to play with tablets instead.

It’s like every year, Ikea owned April Fools’ Day.

But not this year.

Unlike previous ones whereby a lot of effort and planning seem to be done before the actual day, this year’s one doesn’t seem like a prank but a joke – well, more like a meme instead.

It’s just a manual book showing how men DGAF about the assembly book, and so they decided to have empty pages in them for men.

Haha. But no, no headlines for that.

Still, this garnered 147 Shares.

F&N Fruit Tree Fresh (Singapore) (808)

Read on and you’ll realize food-based pranks work.

So basically, there’s a new Fruit Tree drink, and it’s a durian juice…made from Mao Shan Wang.

No offence, but if they had removed the part about Mao Shan Wang, it might have worked on me.

Still, this simple trick garnered 880 Shares.

Singapore Civil Defence Force (1,059 Shares)

Other than saving lives, we all know Singapore Civil Defence Force as the king of social media. But this takes the cake.

This professionally made video suggests that SCDF has found a way to encourage vehicles to give way to emergency vehicles… by changing the obstructing vehicles’ audio system.

It’s so fake right from that moment, but it’s so funny and interesting, we can’t help but to finish the video.

My opinion? SCDF should not just save lives. They should save companies that are dying from an online PR disaster #justsaying

Boost Juice Bars Singapore (1,271 Shares)

Remember me mentioning that food-based pranks would work well? Here’s yet another example.

Put nasi lemak into smoothie and you get a picture that’ll be shared by over 1.2k people.

Of course lah, this looks simple but you never know how long they took to brainstorm this idea #woesofpeopleincreativeline

Burger King Singapore (1,378 Shares)

You know what’s a successful prank? When it’s revealed to be a prank and people are still hoping that it’s true.

Burger King upped the chocolate game by announcing the Chocolate Whopper. Given that fast-food restaurants nowadays seem to be playing the social media game by an ambiguous announcement followed by a real announcement, it’s no surprise that people believed it.

Or maybe, people want it to be true.

Burger King Singapore has to announce that it’s fake, but added this.

With 20,000 heart, they might make this burger a reality.

Not sure about you, but I’ll rather have cai png with chocolate sauce #justsaying

VisitSingapore (Singapore Tourism Board) (3,509 Shares)

And the winner in Singapore? Singapore!

Or to be specific, Singapore Tourism Board with their VisitSingapore Facebook page.

Singapore Tourism Board has been on a roll with their campaigns: the “Don’t Travel Blur, Travel Sure”campaign with The Unbeatables footages is so well-received that I’ve watched every slip, and their passive aggressive reply to Time Out London has made Singaporeans proud.

This new one, well, you just watch and you’ll get it.

While Singapore Civil Defence Force is the king of Facebook, Singapore Tourism Board seems to be the king of campaigns.

Somehow, I feel proud #dontknowwhy

Featured Image: Facebook (Singapore Civil Defence Force)