It's no joke! Microsoft bans April Fools' Day

Completing their transformation into IBM, today Microsoft banned April Fools’ Day company-wide.

In an internal memo, Microsoft’s marketing chief Chris Capossela warned employees that  April Fools’ Day cause more harm than good,  claiming rather dryly that this was backed by research data.

He writes:

Hey everyone,

It’s that time of year when tech companies try to show their creativity with April Fools’ Day stunts. Sometimes the outcomes are amusing and sometimes they’re not. Either way, data tells us these stunts have limited positive impact and can actually result in unwanted news cycles.

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. 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.

Please forward to your teams and internal partners to ensure people are aware of the ask to stand down on external April Fools’ Day activities.

The memo reminds us that today’s Microsoft is now laser-focused on business and productivity, and had no room for fun at work, and that’s no joke.

Via the Verge