TQS StaffLove it or loathe it today is the day when huge corporations and your ‘hilarious’ dad alike (and apparently the government this year) celebrate silliness. From deodorant iPhone apps to unlikely romances we round up this year’s 10 best April Fools’ pranks:
10. Thought Viewing – Blockbuster does Big Brother
The online movie streaming landscape is pretty darn competitive with giants LOVEFiLM & Netflix dominating the market and more recently wit the launch of Curzon on Demand. Longstanding DVD rental service Blockbuster announced a radical new service offering to differentiate themsevles from the competition; Thought Viewing. As Orwellian as it sounds, Blockbuster have some pretty compelling messaging: “Sit and stare at the disc and after about 10 minutes, the movie will start to play in your head. It’ll be a dynamic presentation – it could change every time you watch it, depending on your day.” We’re sold.
9. Apple to patent the rectangle – iGeometry
The big technology companies seem to file dozens of patents, lawsuits over patents and counter-lawsuits over lawsuits over patents everyday, so news site The Register’s report on Apple filing a request to protect their ownership of the rectangle is almost believeable
8. Lynx’s mobile app – it costs a lot of money to smell this cheap
Deodorant straight from your iPhone? Not a bad idea but we might wait for Sure’s version of the app…
7. LOVEFiLM’s 23 minute movies – My Heart Will Go On (for precisely 23 minutes)
DVD rental and online streaming company LOVEFiLM almost had us (for half a second) with their announcement of the AMPPA’s (Alliance of Motion Picture Producers of America) ruling to provide dramatically reduced versions of their films. The ‘ruling’ stated any film set for release in the US or UK must now supply both a standard and “an abridged edit of each motion picture, lasting not longer than 23 minutes” to help bolster cinema attendance in an age of poor audience attention span. Maybe this isn’t such a bad with the upcoming release of Titanic 3D…
6. Stuff’s 42 inch iPad – Angry Birds just got real
When Apple said of the launch of their new iPad “it’s going to be huge” this isn’t exactly what we had in mind.
5. The Tory government introduce tax on sausage rolls – hang on, wait, you’re telling me this wasn’t an April Fools?
Apparently this one isn’t an April Fools but it has resulted in some of the most laughable photo opportunities imaginable from Labour:
4. Emirates Stadium inspired perfume – smell like Arse(nal) all day long
Blended by fragrance experts this new perfume includes the aromas of: the fresh-cut pitch, the leather from boss Arsene Wenger’s dugout seat, a hint of matchday food prepared in the posh Diamond Club by celebrity chef Raymond Blanc and even a touch of striker Robin van Persie’s hair products. A snip at only £23 I’m sure you’ll agree.
3. Virgin Volcanic – Jules Verne spins in his grave
Just when you thought Richard Branson might be content with: TV, internet, plane, train, music, soft drink and banking brands (have I missed anything?) comes the launch of Virgin Volcanic: his mission to the centre of the Earth.
2. Simon Cowell and David Walliams’ budding romance – he’s a lady
Complete with hilarious photos, The Sunday Mirror’s scoop just misses out on the top spot purely because we wanted more image proof. Our favourite bit of the story comes from Italian photographer, Aprile Sciocco’s: “It was so good to see the chemistry between them works just as well off screen.”
1. Google’s 8-bit Maps for NES – Final Fantasy N-E-W-S
Having admittedly neglected one of the biggest computer systems ever sold, Google announced their 8-bit version of Google maps. Complete with hilarious RPG style travelling visualition (below) the search engine giant takes the top spot for their brilliantly executed prank, go over to Google maps and click ‘quest’ in the top right hand corner to have a go yourself.
Did we miss any of the best April Fools’ Day pranks? Let us know in the comments below:
