April Fool's Day: Pranks corporates play

A successful fooling operation involves a high level of strategy and showmanship. (Photo by Midhun Joy via Pexels)

Despite the many reasons attributed to the origin of April Fool’s Day, most of them are as inane as the occasion demands. Perhaps it began as a weapon of nonsense against grumpy and grouchy folks who flaunted their grimness and gravity. Whatever be the reason, we all have our traditional brush with the day, either as perpetrator or as a victim. Very early on we must decide who we are – the one who pulls a leg or the one whose leg gets pulled.

The Fool card in tarot is either unnumbered or considered zero, and while playing cards there’s the Joker. The meanings for these in tarot or a deck of cards vary, veering into good and bad. The fool in Shakespeare’s plays has a special role, bursting into comments that are the truth; he is elevated by his wisdom over those with education and social standing. Jesters – or stand-up comedians as they are known today – have to outwit their audience. The fool, therefore, is not always a sucker or a loser; the label is even an empowerment, a licence to not play by society’s rules.

In Indian films the word ‘fool’ was amply used to convey that the speaker is irritated and convent-educated. While Tamil cinema preferred ‘rascal’, Malayalam films used ‘you fool’ liberally and shrilly across eras. The word has been tucked into many a song and dance, including Connie Francis’ old hit Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool. You can recognise the fool by his rushing in where angels fear to tread.

Pranksters and tricksters mark April 1 on the calendar as their D-day, and prepare for it 364 days in advance, honing their pranks and tricks. It is also a day you are apt to not take any news seriously, even if true and tragic. People continue to be born and die on this date, however.

April Fools’ Day is now a corporate habit. Lay’s India announced chips in a no-share pack, installed with fingerprint sensors, only to go ha ha, fooled you. ShoesX – a smart shoe with USB charging devices, GPS and camera – was another announcement for fun. Zomato came up with a fake link which takes you to a page that says ‘You’ve been pranked!’

While Netflix said it had ‘acquired Seth Rogen’ the actor, the National Research Council of Canada put out a Zombie Apocalypse picture. Amazon launched Petlexa, which, it said, would have Alexa chat with dogs and cats. Google came up with ‘Google Play for Pets’ – games and apps for pets. American travel firm Expedia offered flights to Mars, and many wanted to buy a ticket.

A successful fooling operation involves a high level of strategy and showmanship: acting talent, timing, skills, knowing your ‘enemy’. It is only a bit of harmless fun at the end, but requires premeditation and adequate plotting. The game is to fool others while not being fooled yourself, a bit like James Bond who must shoot the villains while dodging bullets.

So, who are you? The fooled or the fooler? Find out on April 1.