April Fool's Day 2022 - The Review

 Everywhere you go, there's always somebody who wants to be a comedian.  Therefore, every year on April 1st, they all come together for one purpose - to make people laugh.  Sure, there are those who do pranks for the sake of humiliation - whether it's to put shame upon others or to cause pain - but those people aren't funny.  It's the ones that make something funny who should be celebrated, and if it's good enough to fool people (at least until 12pm that same day), then they've earned some extra points.  But overall, if you can laugh at it for a long time after the event, you've struck comedy gold.

Below is a list of posts I have hand-picked from Facebook that I think are among the best I've seen in years.  People (or in this case, companies and organisations) have been extra creative and clever in 2022, so I felt that they deserve some recognition.  So without further delay, here are some screenshots (and a few of my own thoughts):

 

1. TVNZ on Demand / The Bachelor

We all know about the TV series, "The Bachelor".  The show watched by women who hate men that see multiple women at once, despite the fact that the show is exactly that (don't ask me why - must be a girl thing).  But, can you imagine "The Chase" / "Beat the Chasers" host, Bradley Walsh being the star of the show, and not the host?  Neither can I.

 

 

In addition to this, they temporarily changed their page logo to...

 

 

2. The Australian Food Shop

 

 Ever wondered what Vegemite tastes like as a drink?  No, neither have I.

 

 

 

3. SAFE.org.nz

 

Why buy the cow, am I right?

 

 

 

4. Reading Cinemas (The Palms)

 

Don't expect this to be fully widescreen.

 

 

 

 

5. Pizza Hut

 

If it's chicken pepperoni, I'm sold.

 

 

 

6. NZ Police

 

Our police force has a bit of a reputation on social media for some witty posts from time to time, so April Fool's Day is definitely a time for them to shine.

 

 

 

 7. Night 'n Day

From the chain of convenience stores comes a fake product to challenge the Australian Food Shop's entry mentioned earlier.

 

 

 

 

8.  Mt. Smart Stadium

The only entry in this list from a performance venue, this one definitely had some thought put into it.

 

 

 

 

9. McDonald's

 

This would be sooooo gross.

 

 

 

 

 

 10. Hornby - Greater Hornby Residents Association Inc.

 

FYI, the suburb of Hornby is not in the countryside. 

 

 

 

11. Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa

 

Apparently, this one fooled quite a number of people.  Not me though.

 

 

 

 

12. Gregg's Sauces

 

Not sure if this one really counts as a prank as it appears to be more of a question.  Either way, it's not your average post from Gregg's.

 

 

 

 

13. Golden Sun Jalapeño Peppers

This one fooled a few people as well.  Such comments as "What's the point?", for example.  If this were real, they'd probably use capsicum.  Just saying.

 

 

 

14. Goat Simulator

 

Even video game developers got into it this year.  Can you imagine this being real?

 

 

 

 

15. FMG

 

Rural insurance company, FMG popped up in my news feed in the form of a sponsored post.  This time suggesting the use of leashes on sheep.  This is probably the most Kiwi one of the bunch.

 

 

 

16. Cookie Time

 

This one is probably cashing in on a post we saw within the last few months, suggesting that McDonald's in China were selling coriander ice cream sundaes.  Either way, it's a no from me, dawg.  Thank goodness this is fake.

 

 

 

17. Christchurch Casino

 

FYI, people outside of NZ, this is not legit Kiwi cuisine.  It's not only fake, but an abomination.  But since we're on the subject, kiwifruit or pineapple on pizza?  It's not as bad now that I've put it out there, isn't it?

 

 

 

 

18. Burger King 

Similar to the McDonald's post.  In fact, the posts were a few hours apart.  Makes you wonder if the people at BK saw the Macca's one and had to scramble for ideas.  Since we're asking questions (re: #17), would you want to try these ones or the McDonald's one (Mac sauce)?

 

 

 

 

19. Briscoes

 

Even the Briscoes Lady got involved.  Ned Flanders would've been devastated if he saw this one!

 

 

 

20. Beef and Lamb New Zealand 

The prank in this one was more about the cooking instructions, with the joke being that most people seem to like their meat anywhere between rare and medium well done.  They seem to hate on anyone who like it well done or well and truly dead.  If you're asking, I personally like it between medium well and well done (the pink gone, but still juicy).

 

 

 

 

21. Armadillos Restaurants

You know what?  I actually like this idea.

22. Wattie's

You'll always be a Kiwi / Weet-Bix kid if you love our Wattie's sauce & beans.

 

 

 

 

23. Vogel's

 

Local bread company, Vogel's suggested that we try their take on the traditional dessert (bread & butter pudding).

 

 

 

24. The Hub Hornby

The final entry on this list is an obviously fake energy-saving technique by local shopping centre, The Hub Hornby, using a new form of hydroelectricity through the use of toilets.  I tell you what though, and I speak from my experience as a mall slave...I mean cleaner (and no, not at the Hub, by the way) - the number of times the urinals flush automatically throughout the day, you probably could generate some power.  It's just a shame that they take power to automatically flush.  So yeah, this was an obvious fake.

 

 

I hope you've enjoyed this year's entries for April Fool's Day as much as I have witnessed it.  This was actually kind of fun, so I may end up doing this again next year, depending on the contestants out there.

 

Bring on April Fool's Day 2023!