Filipinos are bringing up a clip of an episode of an old American syndicated nontraditional court show where a man got a tattoo on his forehead after falling for a prank on April Fools’ Day.
This was resurfaced after Taragis, a Pampanga-based takoyaki food brand, gained traction for challenging its followers on Facebook to have its logo tattooed on their foreheads for P100,000.
In the now-deleted viral post, the brand announced that the first individual who would send a picture of their tattooed forehead will win the supposed cash prize.
The post was uploaded on April 1, the same date the global community observes the annual day of jokes and pranks.
Taragis also wrote the following text in its graphic: “Click the photo for official rules.”
Clicking the photo accompanying its Facebook post reveals a full version of the graphic with a colorful text below, which reads: “April Fool’s.”
However, in the comments section of the post, Facebook user Ramil Albano commented that he was already having the food brand’s logo tattooed on his forehead in color. He also posted a picture of the alleged tattoo session for proof.
“Sir, nag-PM po ako sa inyo, ginagawa na po, [wait] po ako ng chat ninyo,” he wrote.
The page of Taragis responded to him with a series of shaking face emojis.
Albano also posted a picture of him during the first stages of his alleged tattoo session, when the food brand’s logo was still an ink outline on his forehead.
“Sir, ako na ‘yan, nag-PM po ako,” he wrote.
The food brand later issued a statement, stressing that its post was just for April Fools’ Day.
The takoyaki store also admitted that it received “a number of messages” from people who informed the page that someone took its post seriously.
“Let this serve as a reminder to us all how important reading comprehension is. It’s April Fool’s Day. Never trust anything or anyone. The same as any other day. Once more, Taragis Takoyaki is not accountable for the events that occurred. Thank you!” the food brand said in a now-deleted post.
It has already deleted its April Fools’ P100,000 challenge post as well.
Call for accountability
Following the outcome of the viral challenge, several social media users defended Albano’s move to have himself tattooed, saying that some Filipinos are not aware of April Fools’ Day, which is originally a Western custom.
“Hayy, [hindi] uso ang April Fools’ dito,” another Pinoy said on the X (formerly Twitter) platform.
“Hindi lahat ng followers nila ay alam ang April Fools’ Day. At educated enough to read it with comprehension. ‘Pag pera ang pinag-uusapan, lalo sa Pinas, may kakagat talaga [niyan]. They should be accountable with their stupid post. Kainis!” wrote another Pinoy.
“Ang nakakatawa lang is how important reading comprehension daw, eh hindi naman lahat ng Filipino alam ang April Fools’ Day,” commented another user.
Filipinos continued to call out Taragis after the food brand deleted its posts, urging them to be accountable following Albano’s initiative.
Some tagged the takoyaki store’s Facebook page in an old post of Personal Injury Court, an American show wherein personal injury lawyer Gino Brogdon heard and ruled on personal injury cases.
It aired from September 2019 to February 2020.
According to a law firm, personal injury means physical injuries, mental injuries, or property damage caused to an individual by another party’s negligence.
Meanwhile, the American show on May 18, 2023 posted a video of an episode featuring a man who got a tattoo on his forehead after a radio station announced a contest with a supposed cash prize. It was titled “April Fool’s Prank Leaves Man With Tattooed Forehead!”
The mechanics said the listener must tattoo the station’s call sign letters “KRUD” to their forehead. The first one to do it would supposedly receive $250,000.
Some representatives of the radio station claimed that they ran ads stating it was their “biggest prank yet” for April Fools’ Day.
In the end, the tattooed man won the case.
Filipinos who learned about the incident tagged the page of Taragis, noting the similarities.
“Same vibe,” a Facebook user wrote, sharing a screengrab of the food brand’s disclaimer post.
Others simply commented the link of the page of the food brand to call their attention.
“This really happened in [Philippines right now],” another user wrote in the comments of Personal Injury Court’s post.
“You are soOoo accountable, Taragis!” a different user wrote, tagging the food brand’s Facebook page.
As of this writing, Taragis has not yet publicly addressed the issue after deleting its statement.
ALSO READ: ‘Be kind’: Pinoys reminded how to properly pull off April Fools’ Day prank