Brands
Indian brands show witty side on April fool’s day
MUMBAI: April fool’s day gives everyone a chance to enjoy some hearty laughs and pranks at the expense of friends, colleagues or families. This is the day when you trust no one and nothing. But sometimes, the trickery is so fine that it takes forever for one to realise that they have been fooled. This 1 April, a number of brands played their best cards. Here are some of the best specimens we saw on our social media handles.
Kingfisher
Kingfisher announced the launch of a new product – Kingfisher’s Instant Beer mix, a revolutionary product which would change the beer industry. People were asked to register for free samples, which they did in abundant numbers. As per the brand, people also made WhatsApp groups discussing the product, hence making it a trending topic on the messaging app too.
Netflix India
Netflix India’s April fool’s prank started 14 days in advance as it started sharing cryptic messages that seemed to be pointing towards the much awaited season 2 of the popular original series Sacred Games.
Calendar nikaal. Tareekh likh le. 14 din mein kuch bada hone wala hai.
— Netflix India (@NetflixIndia) March 19, 2019
But on 1 April it turned out to be a very creative announcement of the launch of popular American sitcom F.R.I.E.N.D.S on its platform.
Koi bolta hai sach hai, koi bolta hai mazak, par mandala kabhi kisi ko samajh mein nahi aya. pic.twitter.com/Io681VfPrS
— Netflix India (@NetflixIndia) April 1, 2019
Ola
Ride-hailing platform Ola came up with an interesting solution to the one big problem that the generation, which is ‘always on the go’ faces, the lack of public toilets. It announced Ola Restroom facilities on its social media handles attracting a lot of eyeballs. However, after telling people that it was indeed an April Fool’s prank, they also shared that from now onwards, people can opt to donate Re 1 to Gramalya and help it build toilet across India.
Thank you for laughing with us. While #OlaRestrooms are not here yet, we can do our bit to facilitate better sanitation for thousands. Starting 2nd April you can opt to donate ₹1/ride to https://t.co/WSZtcQyo34 & help them build toilets across India https://t.co/P8a2MHS9uy pic.twitter.com/ZmzteQK7ny
— Ola (@Olacabs) April 1, 2019
One Plus
India’s premium smartphone brand One Plus released a small teaser of its Warp Car, an electric supercar printed using SLS 3D and ABS 3D printing that can also can be customised. The car doesn’t have a steering wheel and relies on smartphone control. It also asked people to participate on Twitter and Facebook with the hashtag #WarpCar to win one.
Get your hands on the fastest-charging electric car in the world. Available April 31. #WarpCar
— OnePlus (@oneplus) April 2, 2019
Pepsi
Pepsi used its influencer network to position its ‘Har Ghoont Mein Swag’ motto via a unique prank where a group of friends tricked a guy into a fake meet and greet with Bollywood actress Disha Patani. The video of the prank got viral as it was also shared on Disha Patani’s official Instagram handle.
7 UP
7 UP took its April Fool’s prank to the streets of Chennai as it teamed up with popular Tamil actor Sathish Muthukrishnan who posed as a local taxi driver in the city and drove around town, pranking unassuming passengers.
Brands
Wow! Momo appoints Sylvia Dutta to lead corporate communications and PR
Ex-Jubilant FoodWorks communications lead swaps pizza for momos as QSR chain sharpens brand push
MUMBAI: From pizza boxes to momo cartons, Sylvia Dutta is on the move. After more than a decade shaping the communications playbook at Jubilant FoodWorks, the former lead for corporate communications has joined Wow! Momo as lead, corporate communications and PR, signalling the fast-growing QSR chain’s intent to double down on brand muscle.
Dutta spent over 14 years at Jubilant FoodWorks, steering communications for marquee brands including Domino’s Pizza, Dunkin’ Donuts, Popeyes and Hong’s Kitchen across India and neighbouring markets. Her tenure saw high-impact campaigns, milestone store launches and crisis communications through periods of rapid expansion in India’s fiercely competitive food services sector.
At Wow! Momo, she steps into a business that has scaled from a single kiosk in 2008 to more than 800 stores across 80 cities, spanning formats such as Wow! Momo, Wow! China, Wow! Chicken and Wow! Kulfi. The company is widely seen as one of India’s fastest-growing homegrown QSR chains, built on a simple product and an aggressive expansion strategy.
Dutta’s remit will cover corporate communications, media relations, reputation management and strategic brand positioning, areas that are becoming critical as QSR players chase scale and investor attention in an increasingly crowded market.
Her career arc runs from newsrooms to boardrooms. She began as a news anchor with Northeast TV before moving into public relations, with early stints at Grey Worldwide and GMR Delhi International Airport. At DIAL, she worked on the launch of Terminal 3 and contributed to international projects, earning internal recognition for execution.
At Jubilant, she rose through the ranks to lead communications, handling everything from external messaging to CSR initiatives. Campaigns under her watch ranged from brand storytelling to public-interest messaging, alongside projects such as documenting Domino’s India journey in a coffee table book.
Dutta described the move as a shift “from one beloved dough to a whole universe of flavour”, underscoring continuity in ambition rather than category.
The hire comes as Wow! Momo looks to deepen its brand narrative beyond product, betting on sharper storytelling to match its breakneck physical expansion. In a market where attention is as contested as appetite, the brief is clear. Build recall, manage reputation and keep the story moving.
From 30-minute deliveries to street-side staples turned national brands, the script has changed. The pace has not.
