Microsoft bans April Fools' Day pranks at work

Warning employees against corporate pranks ahead of April Fools' Day, Microsoft issued an internal memo asking workers to refrain from participating in practical jokes and annoying hoaxes.

"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 Verge quoted Chris Capossela, Marketing Chief, Microsoft as saying in the memo on Wednesday.

The software giant's April Fools' Day ban comes just as the company resurrected its old office assistant Clippy for a day as an animated pack of stickers and later killed it because the "brand police" inside the company did not approve of it.

Microsoft's concerns seem legit based on the April Fools' Day pranks that have backfired on major companies in the past. In 2013, Google and Microsoft poked fun at each other on this day and traded uncalled insults.

In 2016, Google was forced to apologise for muting email threads and adding Despicable Me minions into emails, causing email havoc for Gmail users. "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," Capossela added.