Most clever corporate pranks

Another April Fool’s Day has come and gone, and with it, another round of corporate pranks have been unleashed on the internet. Here are some of our favourites:

Google releases Google Maps for Nintendo

This new ‘development’ from Google was the talk of April 1st, when the company released a video showcasing its decision to delve into the world of video games.

Google did not limit themselves to this big hit though. They had a myriad of tricks up their sleeves, including details on their canine hiring process, release of their really advanced search, interplanetary reporting for Google Analytics,  Google Voice for pets, Australia’s Google Street Roo wherein they put cameras on kangaroos heads, Google Tap which claims to replace all 26 keyboard keys with just two via Morse code, GoRo, Click-to-Teleport extensions, Chrome Multitask Mode, and even a partnership with Nascar that led to Google Racing.

Watch the hilarious video explaining Google Tap:

St. Louis Cardinals prank pitcher Adam Wainwright

After the second inning of the Cardinals game on Sunday, announcer John Frost read a script proclaiming that a fan had won a car. A local advertisement that aired before the inning showed a 2009 Chevrolet Silverado being driven into the field, and that is just what teammate Lance Berkman did when Frost made the announcement.

The trick was that it was pitcher Adam Wainwright’s truck, and when he saw it on the field he didn’t know what to think. Matt Griffen, the uncle of another player, kept the gag going by jumping for joy while holding up the “winning” ticket that had been announced. Wainwright had his suspicion that his friend was pranking him, saying, “I wanted to see who was driving. I looked around (the dugout) and didn’t hear or see Lance, so … .”

Conan O’Brien announces he is taking over Mashable

The always hilarious late night talk show host claimed he was taking over Mashable.com and ousting CEO Pete Cashmore.

WestJet announces a child-free way to fly

WestJet proposed it had a solution to the problem of roudy, crying kids on planes that would help both parents and child-free passengers: kid-free cabins. They also claimed to be introducing helium into their flights to make the plane lighter and save passengers fuel charges.

Forbes claims Mitt Romney exited the Republican presidential race

This is one prank that went sour fast. Forbes released an announcement on April Fool’s Day claiming Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney ceded to Rick Santorum. Contributor Len Burman wrote a piece titled Romney drops out of race, endorses Santorum, that was up for only half an hour before the news publication pulled it when it spread to Twitter and took the top spot on Google News. Burman was unhappy that the satire in his post was completely missed, and put the piece back up on his own blog.

Sources: National Post, Washington Post, Cnet, Google, The Next Web