Austin Brought The Funny On April Fools Day

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Austin had jokes on April Fools Day, from "news" of dockless jackpots dropped on the city to a phony product reveal from Yeti. Even chamber of commerce officials got into the act on Monday with a fake press release alerting to a municipal name change.

With the subject line of "An Austin Chamber exclusive for our favorite reporters," a press advisory sent by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce alerted that the city would be renamed to "Amazonland." This on the heels of the e-commerce retailer announcing the creation of 800 local jobs for its local hub in North Austin.

"The Greater Austin Chamber today announced the City of Austin will be renamed “Amazonland,” the notice began. "The name change follows Amazon’s recent announcement to bring 800 additional jobs to the Austin region."

Chamber spokeswoman Danielle Trevino explained: “We’re proud of our strong relationship with Amazon. With the presence of Amazon Web Services, Whole Foods, and a nearby fulfillment center in San Marcos, this name change makes sense. Our city’s renaming is symbolic of our growing partnership with Amazon and the company’s willingness to work with our region.”

A link was provided to learn more, directing readers to an email address "aprilfools@austinchamber.com with the subject line of "April Fools!"

Ha ha, chamber. You had us going there for a nanosecond.

Austin Inno, a local newsletter offering high tech news, began Monday's emailed briefing with news of thousands of dockless jetpacks dropped on downtown streets "...offering first-time flyers free lessons and lifetime subscriptions," the report read.

"The jetpacks fly up to 36 feet off the ground, creating multiple lanes of flying traffic, and can reach speeds of up to 45 mph," the notice alerted. "The jetpack startup, called Purdy Fly, also opened a new hospital and insurance company as side businesses to accommodate the disruptive new transportation technology. It then immediately got $500M in speculative venture funding despite only being a half-baked April Fool's Day joke in a tech newsletter."

Har dee har, Austin Inno. Clearly a takeoff (no pun intended) on the whole scooter phenomenon that has made the two-wheeled contraptions ubiquitous on city sidewalks.

Also picking up on the scooter theme was Austin-based Yeti, the maker of outdoor lifestyle products such as ice chests, vacuum-insulated stainless-steel drinkware, soft coolers, and related accessories. The Yeti folks went all out with their gag, producing a realistic video announcement to roll out its new product, the Yeti Falcon, which are scooters with coolers haphazardly attached.

"Scooting is the future of transportation," a sincere-looking company spokesman says on the video. "At Yeti we want to be a part of that opportunity." What follows are scenes of scooter riders laboriously propelling themselves with oversize coolers attached to their urban vehicles.

Chuckle, *snort snort* ha ha ha!

Words can't describe it. You gotta see for yourself:

The gag gained some traction (again, no pun intended) on social media where the video was widely shared:

Elsewhere, others took part in some harmless April Fools Day gagas. Tom Brady used the occasion to announce his retirement while 'fessing up it was a gag. Topo Chico also indulged in jokey jokes, announcing their teaming up with Good Pop to create a mineral ice pop.

"NEW Topo Pop from Good Pop! We’ve teamed up with our friends at @goodpop to launch a LIMITED RELEASE #TopoChico Mineral Water @GoodPop. To celebrate we’re giving one lucky winner a summer’s worth of GoodPops AND Topo Chico AND swag. Reply & tag a friend to enter!"

Ja ja ja, Topo Chico. Muy fun times.

Kathmandu also went the video route for its gag, producing a spot purporting to alert of the world's first adaptable, all-weather wedding dress for the prepared bride. The online outdoor and camping store advertised the (fake) product to its female consumers determined to be the "best-prepared bride."

Enter the company's Gore-Tex wedding dress dubbed the Adapt. "Get ready to take on the storm, travel to exotic locations or go home from the summit to the dance floor," the video add reads. A model shows the rugged bridal dress in action, demonstrating the garment amid rough terrain and under rain to display the hidden, handy hoodie feature.

Good stuff, Kathmandu. We definitely say yes to the dress.

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Maven also had a comedic vision, offering a solution to hunters for those bulky, heavy binoculars hanging below their necks while out in the wild. Introducing the Maven He line of binoculars, powered by helium as they float at eye level to unburden hunters of their weight. To order (or not), click here.

Happy April Fools, everyone. We all sure could use a laugh, don't you think?