Brands get around April Fools’ pranks

Although April Fools’ Day fell on a Saturday this year, that didn’t stop a swag of industry names getting silly and pulling a few pranks.

From Contiki to Virgin Australia, the jokers were out in force, so we’ve rounded up some of the fun to relive here.

Virgin Australia’s canine companions

Virgin continues to be a leader when it comes to pulling convincing pranks, like these crackers from years gone by. And 2017 was no different, with this hilarious canine-filled video.

We only wish it were true.

Wakin’ with bacon

Travelodge launched an anti-snooze service for its sleepy guests at airport hotels: alarm clocks that emit the smell of bacon instead of the standard annoying beeps.

The pleasant Whiff & Wake Service, trialled and approved by comedian Rhys Nicholson, will see the sweet smell of frying bacon being wafted in the room to help get guests out of bed.

A first for an Australian hotel, the service is being launched due to an increasing number of airport hotel guests reporting sleeping through their snooze, thus near-missing their flights.

Chef Ben, serves up Bacon to Rhys. Rm 2013, Travelodge Wynyard. Photography by Quentin Jones.

Tattoos and TID

With an alarming rise in ‘tattoo fails’ among Aussie travellers abroad, travel safety experts, Travel Insurance Direct, celebrated April Fools’ with the genius idea of a free tattoo spell checker when on holidays.

The ‘TID: We’ve Got Your Back’ App means that ahead of the tatt-seeking traveller getting inked, the App scans the artist’s flash-sheet to reveal any pesky tattoo typos among English, Thai and Indonesian characters, ensuring they aren’t scarred for life, mortally offend their host country, or just look like idiots – like our case study ‘Jack King’.

Tattoo Spell Checker App nologo

Busabout’s Golden Seat

Busabout took an almost realistic approach to its April Fools’ gag, introducing something called the ‘Golden Seat’, which includes everything from a privileged back row position, dusted daily with fresh rose petals, a relaxing foot massage from your personal masseuse, and unlimited free snacks and mocktails.

It also comes with your very own ‘punkah wallah’ – manual fan operator – to fan you back to a comfortable temperature and a pet cat to stroke if you fancy.

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Contiki goes Artificial

Contiki also went with an almost believable prank, launching ‘Artificial Intelligence Trip Managers’ or A.T.I.T.A, a new technology to create a new, state-of-the-art travel experience for young Australians.

Each A.T.I.T.A is programmed with a database of over 1.5 billion travel facts, tips and recommendations as well as 100,000 jokes that are seamlessly executed for every situation, ensuring that every experience feels totally authentic.

Contiki has also developed a unique messenger app where travellers can chat anytime with their A.T.I.T.A. in order to ask questions about the trip in private, receive personalised recommendations based on their needs or get extra support they need while abroad.

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Captain your own cruise

Online cruise travel agent CruiseAway wanted to exclusively offer the world’s first ‘Be your own captain’ cruise for April Fools’ Day.

In a new cooperation with Fantasea Cruise Lines, cruisers’ were promised the chance to lead a voyage as captain. The first ever ‘Be your own captain’ cruise on board Fantasea Cruise Lines’ MS Dreamon is completely free of charge and includes a salary of $1,000.

To apply, potential captains must first fill out an online questionnaire. A panel of cruise experts will then invite 15 finalists to a cruise industry assessment centre on the Gold Coast.

Once the winner is selected, he/she will have the opportunity to fly with up to five friends to Miami, Florida to receive a week’s intensive training on board the MS Dreamon.

The new captain can then choose one of three 7-night Caribbean cruise itineraries, which will be bookable by regular passengers in just a few weeks.

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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