01/04/2017

April Fool’s Day 2017

The day, which is sometimes referred to as All Fool’s Day, is celebrated by playing practical jokes on others

The stories surrounding the origin of April Fool’s Day vary and it’s can hard to be sure what the truth really is when it comes to the cheeky day.

One popular theory dates the tradition back to 1564 – when France officially changed its calendar to the modern Gregorian version – moving the celebration of the New Year from the last week of March to January 1.

In this tale, those who continued to celebrate the end of the year week on April 1 were scoffed at as fools – “poissons d’Avril”, in French.

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April Fools' Day 2017: the best (and worst) pranks

April 1st — a day colloquially known as “April Fools’ Day” or “the worst holiday ever” — isn’t even until tomorrow, but because the month of April starts on a Saturday this year, all the #brands are already out in force to pollute the internet celebrate the occasion with a bunch of tiresome fun pranks meant to thirstily self-promote their products bring some levity into our day-to-day lives.

So, as is tradition, we’ve rounded up the best goofs, gags, and gimmicks from around the web as we enjoy the antics of the various internet companies. And remember — if you see something tomorrow (or today, even though it’s still not even April Fools’ yet!) that sounds a little bizarre, strange, or too good to be true, it might be worth a second glance.

We’ll continue to keep this list updated through the day(s) as more clever (or “clever”) jokes emerge.

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April Fools’ Day 2017: Our Roundup of All the Best Brand Hoaxes
Say hello to KFC's voice activated delivery system and smart dining assistant

April Fools’ Day falls on Saturday this year, which leaves brands caught between wanting to roll out their hoaxes on Friday, to reach the millions captive at their work computers, or waiting for the big day itself.

Here at AdFreak, we’re going to split the difference—cover all the good ones that come out on Friday, then update the list on Saturday and throughout the rest of the weekend.

Below, check out this year’s shenanigans. And email me and Tim with any good ones we missed.

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April Fool's day 2017: all the best fake news

April Fool's day is usually only observed by children, that 'really hilarious' person in your office and journalists who have to write about it.

And of course, the people in charge of press for large companies, who spend the days before April Fool's sending over weird, wonderful and sometimes tiresome press releases.

In a time of fake news as well as weird and wonderful real news, you'd be forgiven for thinking some of these were real.

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