17 Times Fast Food Chains Totally Nailed April Fools' Day

April Fools' pranks launched by fast food companies are some of the best-executed promotional campaigns around. The biggest names take great joy in humorously misleading their audiences with products and strategies that look like the real thing, just a little too ridiculous to be authentic. The real fun is in watching the target audience respond and seeing just how far the company can take the antics before revealing the truth.

Over the years, companies such as Burger King, McDonald's, and Dunkin' have schemed to tease their clientele with some of the most outrageous yet plausible pranks ever imagined. There have even been some fast food pranks that customers wished were real so much that they later came true. From essential oil product ranges to partnerships with breath mint companies, the best April Fools' pranks from fast food companies have taken practical jokes in some wildly convincing directions.

It's one thing to dip your fries into a milkshake to combine sweet and salty flavors, but it's another to blitz chicken fries into a whole milkshake. In 2016, Burger King decided to shock the world with its Chicken Fries Shake, a strange and unappealing new menu item that offered dinner and dessert in a single product. Even if the public is clamoring for the latest in flavor blends (all things "swicy," we're looking at you), an outlet as widespread as Burger King should exercise restraint.

Fortunately, the chain was just making merry on April Fools' Day with this stomach-turning prospect. There's no telling how many diners were inspired enough by the proposed combination to try making their own Chicken Fries Shake with a takeout bag and a Vitamix. Or maybe not. We think it's best to let something this awful (and convincing) become a distant memory.

The potential outrage of Wendy's eliminating its beloved Frosty from its menu didn't stop the company from alerting its fan base to the very idea. "Sorry to say, but Frosty is out :/," the chain wrote on X in April 2025. It isn't as if the chain has anything else to offer as a dessert treat, so without the timeless soft serve cups, customers would be left high and dry — not to mention having to map out the path to the nearest Dairy Queen.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when it turned out this was just a tricky promotional gag designed to get people talking, executed for April Fools' Day (even though it technically took place on April 8 rather than April 1). It was an opportunity for diehard Wendy's fans to recognize how much they appreciate the fantastic Frosty. Considering the eye-popping number of Frostys the company sells each year, and the slew of tempting new flavors it has introduced over time, it would be foolish of them to strike it from the menu.

It wasn't unreasonable for Dunkin' Donuts to drop the "donuts" and simply stick with Dunkin' when the menu expanded to include breakfast dishes and popular coffee drinks. So when the announcement revealed that another brand was in the works, this time to rename the operation Donuts, diners were more than a little perplexed. Why would an operation that had coined the slogan "America runs on Dunkin'" upset the donut cart in such a drastic and seemingly unreasonable way?

As it turns out, the company was smarter than that. After debuting its totally real new name (not), Dunkin' 'fessed up that it was nothing but a silly goof aimed at making April Fools' Day a more laugh-worthy occasion for its fans. Still, it's fun to think about how ridiculous it would have been carrying around coffee cups and blazoned with the word "Donuts" — kind of like wearing a shirt that says "Pants" across the front.

Even if you love the fiery flavor of Del Taco's various sauces on its array of tacos and burritos, there's no real chance you'd enjoy them as breath mints, is there? Well, that was the angle taken in 2024 when the fast food slinger advertised a corporate team-up with Tic Tac for a selection of salsa-flavored candies.

The limited-time containers would be called Del Tic Tac-o Packs and would contain 60 mints, with separate packs for Mild, Del Scorcho, and Del Inferno, just like the actual Del Taco sauces. The photos shared on Instagram looked real enough, too, with each flavor receiving its own color palette. Thank goodness this unlikely team-up was revealed to be an April Fools' joke executed by both companies. Can you imagine trying to freshen your breath by popping Tic Tacs that taste like taco sauce? Blech.

The Sourdough Jack is one of the most popular and enduring offerings at Jack in the Box. So, the righteous indignation that resulted when the chain claimed to be discontinuing the one-of-a-kind sandwich, there was uproar a-plenty. "Hate to sour your day, but sadly, I'm taking the Sourdough Jack off of our menu," Jack in the Box wrote on X. "Say goodbye while you can." What were long-time eaters supposed to do, settle for a burger on a regular bun?

This sad news for Jack in the Box and Sourdough Jack fans was short-lived when the company abandoned plans to eliminate the burger and admitted it was an April Fools' "gotcha" moment that was never anything more than a joke. It may have gone over like gangbusters, but the prospect of losing a beloved fast food sandwich is no laughing matter. This is why it's important to do your research, check the fine print, and always look at the date of this kind of announcement to see if someone is pulling your leg.

It seemed like Burger King had finally figured out how to address the needs of its left-handed customers when it proclaimed in 1998 that the Left-Handed Whopper would soon hit the menu. At last, those southpaw fast food fans who'd been forced to adapt to the world of the right-handers would have a burger they could enjoy without making the usual adjustments.

If you're asking, "What adjustments?" you're not alone. Everyone who read the press release was left scratching their heads at how a burger was oriented towards any handedness at all. It's as silly as the lore behind the left and right Twix and which of the two tastes better.

Fortunately, when people realized the date of the release was April 1, the jig was up. BK had delivered an April Fools' prank that had their customers more than a little confused, but "left" them laughing.

America's roast beef stepped way outside the box for its 2018 April Fools' prank by revealing its latest promotion item: beef-themed glasses created by eyewear biggie Warby Parker. Images of the glasses showed frames designed to look like roast beef, with the limited-run name W'Arby Parker. There were photos of the frames and other swag offered as promotional materials and proof that the concept was in motion.

But, surprise of all surprises, this silly strategic connection was just a well-executed April Fools' joke that went so far as to feature something called the Onion Ring Monocle at select NYC Arby's locations. But even that turned out to be nothing more than an onion ring. Bonus points to Arby's for raising the stakes by adding an edible dimension to an online prank to lure customers in for a bite.

There's no reason a fast food restaurant can't introduce an alternative burger made with tofu, especially in such a vegan-friendly era. But when the fast food restaurant in question is Carl's Jr. — a place where sloppy, juicy beef is essentially the only game in town — there's bound to be an outcry from the carnivores in the room. So, when the company came up with a $6 vegan tofu burger to expand its menu in 2011, a minor brouhaha ensued. How could a beef-devoted restaurant like Carl's Jr. betray its basic principles just to draw in new customers?

Well, beef fans could sleep soundly once again once the company assured them that the plant-based shift was nothing more than a bit of April tomfoolery, and that there would be no tofu anything entering the product portfolio. If you're going to execute a proper April Fools' joke, you might as well go with one that wakes up and shakes up your target audience.

If you're going to request more garlic sauce to dip your Papa John's pizza in, wouldn't it be more convenient to just buy the stuff by the gallon than having to order and open a thousand of those little cups? It sounds pretty logical, which is why pizza fans started salivating in 2017 when they heard the chain had pulled the trigger on a gallon-size jug of the zesty, buttery drizzle.

But customer morale went flatter than a thin crust when they learned there would be no actual garlic-by-the-gallon. The whole campaign was nothing more than an April Fools' trick designed to drum up excitement. Just when everyone was talking about the Papa John's dipping sauce being sold at scale, the chain pulled the rug — then decided the following year to actually market the jug o' sauce, thanks to the overwhelmingly positive response.

Since you aren't always hungry for a full-sized Big Mac, a smaller version called the MicroMac seems like a plausible move for McDonald's to make. But when the photograph of the candy-sized sandwich made the rounds in 2017, it became obvious that there was no real MicroMac being added to the marquee. There was even a video advertising the new creation with Chef Mike, the man allegedly behind the micro. It all seemed terribly legit and not too far out of the realm of possibility. 

But sly customers who dug a little deeper could tell something might be off. Even the most casual McDonald's fan knows that everything gets bigger with the restaurant, not smaller. If we want tiny burgers, we'll take smaller bites. So, when the MicroMac was discovered to be nothing more than an April Fools' hoax, rolled out with a polished execution, burger eaters breathed a sigh of relief.

Isn't it enough to order a side of deep-fried cheese curds to go with your Culver's butter burger? The powers that be didn't seem to think so — or at least that's what they wanted patrons to believe when they introduced the Curderburger in 2021, the new invention with a buttery roll holding a giant patty-sized version of the crispy, chewy curds on top of a beef patty. Minds were blown, and appetites were whetted.

In a twist that threw even the higher-ups at Culver's for a loop, customers responded so well to the possibility of a curd-loaded burger that the restaurant actually came up with a version of the sandwich and added it to the menu. It's made multiple appearances since then, creating a caveat for other fast-food chains that think they're clever: Beware the ridiculous items you propose to your customer base for the sake of an April Fools' prank — they just might take you up on the offer.

There are plenty of shady things about the Little Caesars menu, but fortunately, its corn cob-crust pizza isn't one of them. The pie was an April Fools' prank that turned more than a few stomachs. The photo alone, showing an otherwise delicious-looking pie stuffed with chunks of corn still on the cob, accompanied by a 2-liter bottle of butter, was enough to make customers think the company had gone too far — and in the entirely wrong direction.

Since when has corn ever been a part of the pizza experience? Maybe sprinkled here and there as a topping in certain gourmet instances, but never left on the cob, and definitely not as part of the crust. Thankfully, it turned out to be a convincing 2023 April Fools' gag, and the "Pizza! Pizza!" people had no intention of tainting pizza crust with corn-on-the-cob. It's good to know the minds behind the bargain pies aren't stepping that far outside the (pizza) box.

You don't go to Ruth's Chris for chicken, and you don't go to Chick-fil-A for steak. Naturally, the chain's April Fools' prank of 2012 that showed off a thick slab of steak on a classic chicken sandwich bun wasn't what fans of the restaurant were expecting. After all, this is the company that uses cows holding signs that say "Eat mor Chikin" as advertising mascots.

Yes, the steak filet sandwich ended up being a spoof item, facetiously promoted by the company on Facebook for April Fools' Day. The gag had such staying power that it was still being passed around almost a decade later. It's a lesson in how blowing the minds of your clientele can have a lasting impact, even when the campaign is a major fake-out. And if Chick-fil-A ever does decide to add meat other than chicken to its menu, surely the company will announce it before or after April 1st.

You wouldn't really brush your teeth with toothpaste flavored like KFC's 11 herbs and spices, would you? The fast food chicken outlet was certain that customers would get the 2025 April Fools' joke when images started circulating of a tube of the strange, savory dental care product. It was laughable at best, and a little nauseating at worst, and chicken fans eat it up like a six-piece combo.

Oddly enough, this turned out to be well-received enough for the company to create real tubes of KFC toothpaste as an actual promotional item. Despite costing $13 a pop — with a matching toothbrush for an additional $9 — the tubes ended up selling out, proving the chain's wacky gag to be a real-life hit. Imagine trying to get your teeth clean and your breath fresh by scrubbing your mouth with the same flavor that made it feel like it needed cleaning in the first place. Everyone has their own idea of what self-care consists of, but when the product used starts out as an April Fools' gag, it makes taking personal hygiene seriously a difficult prospect.

It's bad enough that you have to pay premium prices for even a small scoop of Baskin-Robbins ice cream, but when the company asks you to pay for the world's first invisible ice cream, you know something has slipped off the tracks. It's such an obvious goof that no one could see it as anything other than the 2013 April Fools' joke it was intended to be.

To make the idea of selling invisible ice cream and an interactive experience, the scoop shop uses an ingenious way to describe the flavor of invisible ice cream. Baskin-Robbins location featured photo booth props designed like ice cream cones with a cutout where the scoop should be. When patrons held it up and looked through it, they became a customized ice cream flavor of their very own — each one a specialty selection available for a very short time.

Maybe you'd be willing to take beauty tips from a celebrity as glammed up as Cardi B., but there's not a chance in the fast food universe that you should be heeding cosmetic advice from Raising Cane's. So, when the two names joined forces in 2025 to promote a new moisturizing sauce collab with IPSY, used by the saucy rapper in a makeup tutorial, fans of both entities were left scratching their heads. What could an enterprise that sells deep-fried chicken have to offer anyone helping to make their skin smoother, and why would a musical superstar get on board to help bring it to the world?

Of course, there wasn't really such a thing as a dipping sauce-based moisturizing cream. It turned out to be a fast food April Fools' joke that the well-humored Cardi B. participated in, lending the bit a strange authenticity that helped sell such an outlandish proposal. For anyone hoping to shore up their T-zone to get a dewy glow, don't bother looking for it, not even on the Raising Cane's secret menu. The dipping sauce you'll find there is strictly for flavoring up your strips and slathering on your sandwich.

You may adore the scent of a Krispy Kreme donut shop, but would you want to smell like that yourself? The company bet that enough of its customers would love nothing better, so it promoted a Krispy Kreme perfume that would add an extra dimension to the lives of donut lovers. Yes, it might make you hungry for donuts, but the perfume would also motivate you to make regular stops at your local Krispy Kreme for a 12-pack of the fragrance's inspiration. A self-sustaining advertising loop has rarely been so devious.

This outrageous Krispy Kreme April Fools' joke had the Internet cracking up when it appeared in 2022 on the company's Instagram feed. It came complete with an image of a donut-shaped perfume bottle called L'Original No. 12, photographed with a flaming, red-hot background that looked more appropriate for Valentine's Day. It's the details that matter most when you're trying to sell an April Fools' prank — a fact that Krispy Kreme's marketing team clearly understands.