PRPG:

Happy April Foods Day!

March 31, 2017

What better way to pull off an April Fool’s Day prank than with the one thing people take so seriously that they wouldn’t even suspect it? Here are some food-based goofs staged by international fast food chains.

  • On April Fool’s Eve (that’s March 31) back in 1998, Burger King announced its latest addition to its menu: the for-southpaws-only Left-Handed Whopper. In pithy press materials, Burger King claimed that the L.H.W. was different from its regular Whopper because the meat patty inside had been rotated 180 degrees to properly accommodate left-handed diners. The next day—April 1st—the company had to announce that the burger was a joke…even though thousands of people had reportedly tried to order the thing at their local Burger King.

 

  • Hundreds of people actually called Taco Bell to protest a publicity stunt it pulled it off in 1996—which must mean that it was a pretty successful April Fool’s Day prank. The fast food giant announced that it had purchased the iconic, historically significant Liberty Bell from the National Park Service…and renamed it the Taco Liberty Bell. Just after the NPS had to hold a press conference to deny the news, Taco Bell’s corporate office had to admit that the whole thing had just been a joke.

 

  • A few years ago, “curated subscription boxes” were all the rage. For a small monthly fee, participants received a box full of specially selected items—like the popular Birchbox, loaded with beauty supplies and cosmetics. McDonald’s made fun of the fad in April 2016 when it invited customers to sign up for one of three boxes, including the Ribster. Geared toward “hipsters,” it included a plaid scarf, a mustache comb, a McRib barbecue pork sandwich…and a card printed with the word “irony.” (That same April Fool’s Day, McDonald’s also claimed to be selling a new line of “McJuices.” Flavors included “Big Mac Blend,” “French Fries Quench,” and “Filet-O-Fish Swish.”)

 

  • Just a few days before April Fool’s Day 2017, BK released a commercial that it would soon be selling a Whopper-flavored toothpaste. While Burger King claims that its new product will actually be available in Europe soon, it sure smells like a prank. The toothpaste itself (if it exists) reportedly smells (and tastes) like a Whopper—that ultra-fresh combination of beef, cheese, onions, pickles, and ketchup.