April Fools' Day Is the Super Bowl for Web Ads

Toshiba
Erik Hayden 2,218 Views Apr 1, 2011

The man above you is about to be punched in the face because he is wearing a 3D monocle that makes everything he's looking at so unimaginably ultra-realistic that he can literally feel like a boxer is about to knock him out of the ring. Congratulations, Toshiba, you just got a free product placement today. 

Welcome to April Fools Day 2011, where companies consider a day of harmless pranks as the best time to roll out ads to cash in on the extra eyeballs seeking out amusing viral video. Here's a snapshot of corporate entities looking to get in on the April 1st action:

Gmail Motion: Sure, Why Not

Considering Google's penchant for a developing a product to fit every single conceivable niche, motion activated email doesn't seem far fetched in the least:

LinkedIn: Network With Ernest Hemingway, Sherlock Holmes

Mashable found that when they logged into the more buttoned-down social-networking site, a few cultural icons showed up in the "People You May Know" section. Hemingway, care to glance at our writing clips?

[h/t: Mashable]

YouTube 1911: Viral Videos From a Century Ago

Reimagining all the already dated clips you saw last week as if they were silent films:


Hulu: Bask in the Glory of the Web Circa 1996

Hey, look: even the pictures load as if we were using dial-up.

Toshiba Spectacle: "Realism In a Simple Monocle"

Self-aware product spoof: "One-eyed 3D so real, be careful what you watch":

Non-New York Times Media Companies Erect a Paywall

See: Arianna Huffington's prank. BoingBoing's letter to readers.


The U.S. Army: Everyone Gets a Stetson

"In a fingertip-to-the-brim nod to its American frontier history, the Army is changing hats again - returning to the tumultuous days of the horse Cavalry in the wild west and adopting a dark blue Stetson as the official headgear for the current force of 1.1 million Soldiers." [U.S. Army]

Republicans: Can't Waste An Opportunity To Jab the President

The National Republican Senatorial committee creates a mock 2012 Obama ad:

Googling Helvetica Brings Up Search Results In Comic Sans

Self-explantory.

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