More and more, foolishness is becoming part of the marketing mix.

On April 1, 1996, Taco Bell announced that they had purchased the Liberty Bell and renamed it Taco Liberty Bell.  Hundreds of outraged calls poured in to National Historic Park before the truth was revealed.  The stunt merited comment in the day’s White House briefing when press secretary Scott McCurry said, off-the-cuff, that the Lincoln Memorial had been purchased by an automaker and renamed Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

In 1998, Burger King addressed the needs of southpaws with the launch of the left-handed Whopper.  Made from the same ingredients as the regular Whopper, all of the condiments were turned 180 degrees.  Dozens of people came in asking for it, including one guy who said he was interested but wanted to know if it came in a right-handed version.

The tradition continued this year.  Ben and Jerry’s launched Cyclone Dairy, a new line of ice cream made from the milk of cloned cows.  On YouTube, videos played upside-down.  And Southwest Airlines announced new service to St. Olaf, the fictional birthplace of “Golden Girls” matriarch Sophia Petrillo.

But this year’s winner was the Orlando Magic basketball team.  They pulled a fan out of the crowd for a chance to shoot a half-court shot, blindfolded, to win $100,000. Unbeknownst to the poor sucker, the crowd was in on the gag.  As his blind shot missed by a mile, the crowd erupted in faux celebration.  The man tore off his blindfold and ran an impromptu victory lap.  As he was presented with an oversized check, he was asked what he would do with his winnings.  “I just got laid off,” he joyfully responded, “this money will save us!”  (Insert record-scratch noise here).  The audience went silent in horror…

…until it was revealed that the man was, in fact, an actor.  It was the Orlando Magic fans who had been punked.