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Economy & Business

Essential Pittsburgh Archives

Corporate April Fool's Jokes Going Viral

Published April 1, 2014 at 4:33 PM EDT

Cheetos perfume, Taco Bell purchasing the Liberty Bell and American Beagle dogwear.

They’re all examples of corporations getting into to spirit of April Fool's. This week contributor Rebecca Harris looks at the business of April Fools.

Harris' favorite examples of company April Fool's jokes that went viral:

-Google Voice for pets - translate pets thoughts into voice

-Gmail tap - ability to type emails using Morris code

-Burger King (1998) - gave company’s left handed customers a special Whopper

-Virgin Group - "Purchase of Pluto"

-Kaufmann's (1948) - Ran an ad with outlandish items including zip-on wallpaper, mirror dress, garden hat (with real flowers) and ceramic pasta that grew overnight.

This year, Google got in on the fun.

http://youtu.be/4YMD6xELI_k

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Essential Pittsburgh Archives Rebecca Harris Business

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