Companies that traditionally hold elaborate April Fool's prank campaigns skipped them this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Brands that had successful campaigns last year, such as Durex, KFC and Sunshine Bakeries, did not have their usual social media posts with fake products and hoaxes to bait unwary customers.

Last year, Durex's campaign featuring spiced condoms went viral, as did Sunshine Bakeries' bubble tea-flavoured bread loaf offer.

Tech giant Google, which invests in several April Fool's public campaigns each year, was one of the first firms to have a moratorium on tomfoolery this year.

Head of marketing Lorraine Twohill urged staff to refrain from pranks and jokes this year.

She said the move was "out of respect" for those fighting the Covid-19 pandemic at this time.

Last year, public campaigns by Google included the Google Tulip, an app which allowed users to talk to a tulip, as well as Google Spoon Bending, a smart spoon that allows users to type Japanese characters in Gboard, the company's virtual keyboard, by bending it.

According to marketing insight website Adweek, opting out of April Fool's campaigns is the norm in the advertising and marketing industry this year.

These campaigns are usually used as a method for brands to display their humour and personality in order to reach out to more consumers.

In the past, even Singapore Tourism Board and Gov.sg have taken part with unique posts and hoaxes.

A handful of companies that went ahead with public campaigns for April Fool's Day this year included online restaurant Grain Singapore, Subway and Royce' Chocolate.

Subway's post on March 27 promoted a new Durian Delite spread. The viral post received more than 1,600 shares and 2,200 comments, although some netizens noted promoting products that might draw queues was not wise because of social distancing measures.

Grain Singapore put up a post promoting a Socially-distanced Twosome, involving two meals separated by a "one-metre virusresistant bar".

Royce' promoted its products by assuring consumers of high quality on all days, including April Fool's.

It said in its post: "Others may fool you, but we won't."