April Fools’ Day always brings with it pranks, doesn’t it? Well this year, the biggies in the region have put their naughty step forward and have succeeded in pranking people. The world’s biggest brands like Emirates, Heinz and McDonald’s pranked customers with fake news and joke stories. The convincing tales tricked some online followers on social media, while others were not so easily convinced.
Here’s a look at Dubai’s best April Fools’ Day jokes 2023! Did you fall for these?
1. Emirates’ cruise liner sailing from Dubai to Karachi
Emirates airline on 1 April took to social media to make a ‘massive’ announcement. Taking to Instagram, Emirates announced the launch of a new maritime arm called Emirates Sealine. Sharing a post of the cruise sailing around Atlantis, the Palm, the witty Instagram stated that bookings will be open from 31 June. Well, a few even fell hook, line and sinker for the prank.
“We’ve conquered the skies, and now, we’re charting course to take over the seas! Introducing Emirates Sealine – our ultra-luxurious cruise liner. ? ?? Bookings open on 31 June, for its maiden voyage to Karachi on 1 April 2024.“
Also Read: Emirates Airline Trains More Than 24,000 Cabin Crew & Ground Staff On Hidden Disabilities
2. Heinz launches new Up and Down bottle
Getting that last drop of ketchup out of the bottle is always a task, isn’t it? Well, Heinz has a solution for this- or so it ‘claimed’. The household brand tempted people into the brand new bottle with ‘lids on either side’. Calling it the Ketch-Up&Down, Heinz’s Instagram post was convincing enough not to be a prank.
Instagrammers had a mixed response to the post, however. While a few were overwhelmed by the new design, a few others understood the prank.
“At last… No more banging the damn bottle on my palm!! Thank you for this, Heinz. This changes everything… ???”- one Insta user said.
“April foooooooolz”- added another.
3. Elon Musk buys Lovin Dubai
In a playful Instagram post, Lovin Dubai, a local media brand said that Elon Musk has now acquired it.
“Elon Musk can now add Middle-Eastern media buyer to his resume after it was revealed that the tech-preneur has paid $100 million to acquire an undisclosed stake in Lovin Dubai, a subsidiary of Augustus Media”- read the post.
Alongside quotes from ‘Musk’ and ‘The New York Times’, the carousel post also had an image of Elon Musk and a caption mentioning the “buyout”. Lastly, there was also a newspaper clipping to support the story. Nicely done, Lovin!
4. Gymnation’s leg-day slide
Leg day has to be one of the hardest and you’ll agree of you’re a gym-goer. In a bid to make gym-goers happy, Gymnation took to Instagram to ‘announce’ a new slide for leg day. The video shows a man walking towards a staircase, only to press a button after which the slide pops out. Claiming to take you from “top to bottom in just 5.6 seconds”, the “world’s first slide developed using the #1 market leading LEGendary-gym technology!”
Gymnation said the slide is designed to “soothe your glutes,” and it is also supposed to provide some relief for gym goers. In order to make the post more credible, the brand also added terms and conditions saying that “Members are not permitted to climb the stairs again for another go”.
And the best part- an Insta user even played along and thanked the brand saying, “just came from the gym. Its amazing. Thanks @gymnation_me”.
Also Read: This Instagrammable Cafe At Boxpark Looks Straight Out Of A Fairytale
5. McDonald’s makes McFlurry straw
How many times have you accidentally used the McFlurry spoon as a straw? The tiny hole in the spoon had us fooled for so long. McDonald’s only made use of this for their April Fools’ prank. The fast food chain took to Instagram to announce that they had (finally) made the McFlurry spoon a straw.
6. No discounts on noon
UAE’s favourite online shopping app Noon also jumped the bandwagon. The brand has never failed to make their users smile with their relatable and hilarious app alerts, and they did the same this year too.
Noon almost had shoppers by warning them that there would be “no discounts today,” but quickly changed their tune and said they were “just kidding.”
Also Read: UAE’s First Farm-To-Table Chocolate Factory Is Now Open & We’re Drooling
7. KHDA announces permanent distance learning — on Saturdays
Dubai’s education regulator, KHDA also sent out pranks this year. The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) on Saturday tweeted that ‘starting immediately’, students will get one day of permanent distance learning — but on a Saturday, a weekend.
The KHDA wrote: “Following requests from parents and students to have permanent distance learning one day a week, we’re pleased to announce that starting immediately, distance learning will take place on Saturdays. Like right now”.
And, since ‘permanent distance learning’ is the new normal, KHDA made it a point to add a meme to the post so that people would get the trick.
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