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April 1st has become a day for creative companies to test their limits of humor and wit, as they deliver elaborate pranks designed to entertain, confuse, and occasionally annoy their audiences. In 2025, companies from tech giants to snack brands embraced the opportunity to surprise us all with a variety of amusing hoaxes. From AI with attitude to outlandish product releases, the pranks of this year took creativity to new heights. Here’s a roundup of the most memorable hoaxes that delighted and confounded consumers worldwide.
The Top April
1. OpenAI’s “Monday” Voice Mode
OpenAI unveiled a voice mode dubbed “Monday,” designed to sound like a moody teenager reluctantly carrying out mundane tasks. The AI, typically known for its helpfulness, greeted users with exaggerated sighs and sarcastic quips. One user received the dry response: “Oh, I don’t know, maybe because it’s Monday, and here I am stuck explaining the obvious.” The voice mode, available throughout April, let users experience digital eye-rolling and frustration, tapping into the shared sentiment of Monday blues.
2. Duolingo’s Five-Year World Cruise
Duolingo and Carnival Cruise Lines teamed up to announce an extravagant five-year world cruise visiting 195 countries, with the app’s owl mascot acting as the cruise director. The cruise promised an immersive language-learning experience, though it came with a caveat: forget your daily streak, and you’d be shot out of a waterslide. This prank pushed the limits of absurdity, making it a standout in the world of language learning.
3. Zepto’s Nostalgic Snack Selection
Food delivery service Zepto launched a special section featuring discontinued snacks like Bytes chocolate and Pepsi Blue, playing on millennials’ nostalgic memories. It expertly tapped into consumers’ longing for these lost treats, causing many to eagerly share the “news” before realizing they’d fallen for an April Fools’ joke. The prank was a psychological masterstroke, using emotional connections to pull in users.
4. ElevenLabs’ Text-to-Bark
Voice cloning company ElevenLabs presented “Text-to-Bark,” a fictional technology that supposedly allowed humans to communicate with their dogs. The prank was aimed at pet owners who’ve often wondered what their pets might be thinking. With this tool, dog owners could supposedly translate human speech into barks, offering a glimpse into a world where pets might answer back.
5. Dbrand’s “Touch Grass” Skins
In a clever twist on the popular internet phrase “touch grass,” accessory brand Dbrand released a collection of artificial turf skins for phones, laptops, and other devices. These skins allowed users to feel as if they were interacting with nature, without leaving their screens. Unlike most pranks, Dbrand’s product was real and available for purchase, blending humor with genuine consumer appeal.
6. Yahoo’s Agricultural Interface
Yahoo introduced a bizarre “Agricultural Interface,” a keyboard that grew grass and flowers between the keys. Promoted as bringing “grassroots technology right to your fingertips,” the product aimed to connect users with nature while they continue their digital escapades. The demonstration, showcasing lush greenery sprouting from the keys, had people questioning how much typing would be altered by the changing seasons.
7. IKEA’s Linear Store
IKEA took a humorous jab at its notoriously convoluted store layouts with a fictional concept for a linear store stretching a mile and a quarter. The store’s claim? A completely straightforward shopping experience where customers would never get lost. This playful take on the endless maze of IKEA showrooms aimed to turn the brand’s reputation on its head.
8. Nothing’s 50-Meter Headphone Cable
Tech company Nothing introduced a truly impractical product: headphones with a 50-meter cable. Described as “Beautifully Inconvenient,” the product mocked both the trend towards wireless technology and the nostalgic attachment to wired headphones. With a cord longer than half a football field, this prank had people imagining the chaos of managing an absurdly long headphone cable.
9. Royal Albert Hall’s Nokia 3310 Experience
Royal Albert Hall, known for its cultural performances, took a step into the past with the announcement of an “Immersive Nokia 3310 Experience.” The event would feature the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performing iconic Nokia ringtones, live-streamed gameplay of Snake II, and organ music played using a T9 keypad. This nostalgic prank blended high culture with early 2000s technology, offering a humorous and grand tribute to the beloved Nokia 3310.
10. Manforce AI-Powered Condoms
Condom brand Manforce stirred controversy with their announcement of “Dot AI” condoms, designed to enhance pleasure with sensors that supposedly tracked a “sexual quality index.” The prank, featuring an app that supposedly improved intimate experiences, created a stir online. The revelation that it was an April Fools’ joke highlighted how technology has crept into almost every aspect of modern life.
What Undercode Says:
April Fools’ pranks, while often lighthearted and entertaining, serve a deeper purpose in the corporate world. They aren’t just about fooling consumers—they’re about capturing attention, generating viral content, and reinforcing a brand’s personality. This year’s pranks reflect a growing trend in tech companies using humor and absurdity to engage audiences in a more personalized way.
For example, OpenAI’s sarcastic “Monday” voice mode taps into the relatable pain of the workweek, humanizing an otherwise neutral AI. Duolingo’s world cruise prank combined the brand’s playful persona with an elaborate story, amplifying the emotional impact of its viral appeal. Zepto’s nostalgia-based prank demonstrates how brands can tap into collective memory to forge stronger connections with their audience. Nostalgia, particularly, has become a powerful tool for engagement in the digital age.
Moreover, the pranks like
The increasing sophistication of these pranks reveals a cultural shift. They’re not just attempts to make people laugh—they’re strategic moves to position brands within broader societal conversations. While these pranks may seem whimsical on the surface, they demonstrate a savvy understanding of the complex ways in which consumers interact with technology and culture.
For tech brands, pranks are an opportunity to engage in a cultural dialogue that feels fresh and genuine. By playing with absurdity and tapping into universal experiences (like the frustration of a Monday or the joy of nostalgia), companies like OpenAI and Duolingo are able to position themselves as relatable, approachable, and in tune with their users. This tactic of using humor to promote engagement speaks volumes about the evolving relationship between brands and consumers.
Fact Checker Results:
- OpenAI’s Monday Voice Mode – The prank is a playful extension of OpenAI’s capabilities, making AI interactions feel more human and relatable.
2. Duolingo’s World Cruise – Completely fictional;
- Zepto’s Nostalgic Snacks – Zepto did not actually release the snacks but tapped into nostalgia as a tool for viral marketing.
References:
Reported By: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/april-fools-day-how-chatgpt-maker-openai-zepto-yahoo-nothing-pranked-users/articleshow/119895031.cms
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