Ahead of April Fools’ Day, Microsoft issued an internal memo warning employees against corporate pranks and to refrain from participating in practical jokes and hoaxes.
Chris Capossela, Marketing Chief, Microsoft said in the memo, “Considering the headwinds the tech industry is facing today, I’m asking all teams at Microsoft to not do any public-facing April Fools’ Day stunts.”
The company’s April Fools’ Day prank ban came after it restored its old office assistant Clippy for a day as an animated pack of stickers and later killed it as the company’s brand police did not approve it.
Major companies April Fools’ Day prank have badly backfired and that’s the reason, Microsoft is playing safe and the concerns seem appropriate.
In 2013, Google and Microsoft have made fun of each other on this day but it eventually led to insults. Also in 2016, Google had to apologize for muting email treads and adding Despicable Me minions that lead to havoc amongst Gmail users.
Marketing chief of Microsoft also said, “I appreciate that people may have devoted time and resources to these activities, but I believe we have more to lose than gain by attempting to be funny on this one day.”
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