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Most viral April Fools videos of 2014!

By Mel Peck

April 2, 2014 | 6 min read

Viral Chart video data curated by the VAN team.

Top trending viral ad campaigns:

April Fools is a great time for companies to get a bit playful with their advertising. It’s the one day of the year when brands are free to indulge in a spot of no-holds-barred creative marketing and it’s always fun reading about the various new mad-cap product lines that hit the market on April 1st.As expected, yesterday was no exception… News crews marvelled over the creation of square eggs; Vegemite unveiled a new yeasty soft drink in a can; Amazon announced the sale of a line of Kindles that come with an electronic smell dispenser to deliver an authentic ‘real paper scent’; and Malibu revealed it was working on plans to bring the world’s first ‘mobile tasting’ device to the market, with a new app that allows you to taste cocktails by licking your phone screen. (Alas, if only these things were real!)
Of course, Google stole the show again this year with a whole line of April Fools pranks, from a celebrity photobomb app to a special magic hand for your smartphone, but my favourite had be the 'Google Maps Pokémon Challenge'. Apparently, Google HQ now has a Pokémon lab and it’s recruiting for a ‘Pokémon Master’ to join the team. All you need to do to be in the running is go on an explorer mission across the world and capture 150 hidden Pokémon creatures.The exciting part of it is that Google and Nintendo have actually teamed up to make the app real and you can now search through Google Maps and tap to collect the hidden creatures as you find them. Ok, I’m sure you probably won’t be in for a high flying job as the head of Google’s new Pokémon division if you manage to complete the challenge, nevertheless, it’s still pretty damn fun and you’ll never even have to leave the comfort of your own home. (Be warned – this WILL end up sucking up a massive portion of your day. I found 6 of them yesterday and I’m not going to say how much time I spent searching!)

Continuing the April Fools theme, Samsung is also getting in on the action. Yesterday the brand’s Innovation Labs announced the invention of ‘Fli-Fy’ a revolutionary way to make WIFI available everywhere. How is this possible you might ask… well, by attaching miniature portable micro-routers to pigeons of course!

Also new in the chart this week, Metro Trains Melbourne (the company behind the awesome dumb ways to die) has released a timely April Fools safety PSA. Amidst all the hilarious pranks and fake product launches the organisation is back in the viral spotlight, delivering an important message about the dangers of April fools stunts gone wrong with another brilliant little animated song.

Top trending UGC and entertainment videos:

Over in the UGC and Entertainment Chart, Google continues its April Fools shenanigans with an elaborate campaign from YouTube, revealing some rather interesting predictions for this year’s big video hits.What if viral trends weren’t random? What if YouTube is really behind it all, secretly creating and manipulating the obsessions of the interweb? That’s the premise of YouTube’s #NewTrends April Fools joke, which claims the site was actually responsible for the world’s biggest viral videos and online memes like Gangnam Style and the Harlem Shake.This year, YouTube has a whole range of interesting treats lined up to be the next big internet sensations. Here’s a sneak preview; ‘Clocking’ (the new planking where people take pictures of themselves around the world with their arms in the shape of a clock to show the time of day); ‘Finish Lining’ (when you hold up a ribbon for your friends to run through as if they just won a race); ‘Bun Nutting’ (secretly stuffing a nut into someone’s hair bun); and of course there’s a variety of crazy new dance moves. There are some pretty funny suggestions in there, a few of which may well end up going viral!

Also trending this week is a rather amusing experiment from a crazy Italian guy who decided to see what happens when you mix Coke, Mentos and Nutella together in a condom. You’d think people would be tired of the whole ‘Coke + Mentos’ thing by now, but somehow it never gets old. I’m not entirely sure what purpose the Nutella played in the whole thing but the results are pretty funny.

Squeak of the Week:

Beware of leaves. According to one little dog, who hilariously freaks out when confronted by one, they can be down right terrifying!

Join the #KittenCamp Snackz mailing list for weekly updates on top trending videos and follow @JoinVAN for the latest viral gossip and industry news!

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