So, it’s 1 April today. We could’ve been sneaky and made this blog entry a joke one to catch people out (we’d never do that, eh Kat?!). Instead, Mark has scoured the internet to find some of the best April Fool’s news and announcement wind-ups.
National newspapers can’t resist their 1 April ‘fake news’ stories. Here are some of the better ones I’ve found over recent years:
- Horses in the Grand National will be allowed to wear headphones so they can listen to music (Daily Mirror)
- Former Chancellor George Osborne is launching his own clothing line called ‘Georgio’ (The Guardian)
- A pizza firm is planning to introduce a new heated letterbox that will keep food hot for up to 12 hours (Daily Express)…[I wish this were true!]
- Piers Morgan has been appointed as President Trump’s Showbusiness Advisor (Metro) [Stranger things have happened]
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wed in secret Las Vegas ceremony (Daily Mail)
- A polar bear has been spotted as far south as Scotland as animals flee the melting Arctic ice cap (Daily Telegraph)
- Third class standing-only train carriages will be reintroduced to ease overcrowding (The i)
- Poundland to be renamed £1.19land to cope with inflation (The Sun)
Not to be outdone, some of our favourite companies and brands also get in on the act with some rather wonderful product announcements:
Marmite announced the launch of Meh-Mite, a blander version of their product to appeal to the Marmite ‘haters’. Coca-Cola launched a helium version of their soft drink and Burger King France announced that it was releasing a Whopper-flavoured toothpaste.
Virgin Atlantic publicised their new Dreambird 1417, with wings that bend and flex to create a flapping motion that propels the aircraft forward and generates its own power. Rival airline Emirates unveiled plans for a triple-decker plane with games room, gym and park. Ikea Australia also joined in the fun, announcing plans for its own low-cost airline FLIKEA and touting the world’s first non-stop flight from Sweden to Australia.
And finally, is today a good day to announce that Rambutan are launching their new iConsultant? Cutting-edge AI technology has allowed us to create a robot consultant pre-loaded with thousands of business books, leadership models and business scenarios.
