Corporate communications professionals were left reeling today as the professional body called on the public to report the worst examples of the corporate April Fools' genre.
While historically the participation of the business community in the tradition has been seen as harmless fun, the true strain of the phenomenon is beginning to tell on an increasingly militant core of social media users.
Last night Twitter UK supremo Bruce Daisley issued a warning shot by vowing "zero tolerance of corporate April Fools' jokes tomorrow".
Meanwhile, examples of the toll taken, particularly on men, were not difficult to find this morning.
Flowchart: Should your company do an April Fools gag tomorrow? pic.twitter.com/7m6nuwJyRj
— Bored Elon Musk (@BoredElonMusk) March 31, 2014
Samsung and HTC ‘unveil’ the same April Fools’ Day products: tech gloves - Lacks #PR imagination. http://t.co/R8xnvvJzR1
— Mark Borkowski (@MarkBorkowski) April 1, 201
"Gmail Shelfies". Fuck you.
— Joe Sinclair (@AlpineJoeJoe) March 31, 2014
Among the solutions under consideration by the CIPR are limiting corporate April Fools' to odd-number years; a quota system; and naming, shaming and summarily banning the worst offenders.
