Top Five 2013 April Fool’s Day Pranks

Monday marked April 1st, a day relished by merry pranksters and hated by the gullible and unwary. While you may have walked into or witnessed a practical joke or two in your workplace that morning, brands and digital media properties were also busy unleashing their own inner tricksters. Here are our top five April Fool’s Day Pranks:

5. Kid President’s Special Message from the White House. “The world needs to stop being boring.” We hear you loud and clear, Kid President. While not brand-based, this gave us a laugh. “It looks like you were expecting someone else.” That look on his face is priceless.

4. Scope’s Bacon-Flavored Mouthwash. For breath that “sizzles,” Scope made a major new product announcement Monday, offering bacon-flavored mouthwash. Finally, the ultimate product idea to test the theory that bacon makes everything better. Unfortunately, we’re not going to be able find out. Though this prank may have set DIY bacon fanatics on a mission to experiment with this concept at home.

3. Virgin’s Glass-Bottomed Plane. Passengers on the Little Red could have experienced a whole new definition of vertigo with Virgin’s glass-bottomed plane. Richard Branson is eccentric enough that this had potential to be real thing. Thrill-seekers wished it was.

2. Vimeow. Vimeo joined in the fun and created Vimeow, a place for any and all cat videos. Crazy cat ladies rejoiced, if only for a moment. =^.^=

And our favorite April Fool’s Day Prank from the around the web:

1. Birchbox. Beauty products delivered to your door each month.

The Ruse: On Monday, Birchbox introduced its consumers to a new product: Birchbox for Boxes! Birchbox for Boxes was the product box-lovers have been waiting for: a set of boxes delivered right to their doors, in a box, every month.

Why We Liked It: Birchbox’s prank did more than produce a WTF moment for its customers – people who clicked through the email offer landed on a page declaring the offer to be a hoax, but offering those curious enough to investigate a chance to receive extra Birchbox points if they made a purchase that day using the code “APRILFOOLS,” thereby turning a clever prank into a clever marketing trick.