"April Fool's Day Survey"

2014.03.31 Press Releases
Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd.

-On April Fool's Day, one in three people will be fooled! One in two people will lie to someone! But the success rate is 16%. The best April Fool's lie is the flying penguin (BBC) -

Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. is pleased to announce that it has conducted an "April Fool's Day Survey" using the "T Survey," an online opinion survey, targeting 1,265 male and female T members who use T-CARD.

April Fool's Day Survey Results Digest

● 35% of people have been fooled by an April Fool's Day lie
● 45% of people have lied to someone on April Fool's Day
●Success rate of April Fool's lies: 16%
●The masterpiece of April Fool's lies: BBC's "Flying Penguins"
●Speaking of entertainment products related to "lies"
　Music: Kiyoshi Nakajo "Lie"
　Movies: "Liar Game" and "The Sting"
　Book... "Aesop's Fables: The Boy Who Cried Wolf"

Q: Have you ever fallen for an April Fool's joke?

*Response method: Single answer, n=1,265

April 1st, "April Fool's Day," is a day when many people in various countries around the world tell joking lies. Every year, various lies are spread and there is no shortage of topics about deceiving and being deceived, but in order to find out the true nature of April Fool's Day, we conducted an ``April Fool's Day Survey'' among T members.
First, we asked whether people had ever been fooled by an April Fool's Day lie, and 35% answered "yes."Looking at the results by gender and age group, the majority of respondents were women in their teens and twenties, with 43.3% saying they had been fooled by an April Fool's Day lie.

Q: Have you ever lied to someone on April Fool's Day, and was it successful?

*Response method: Single answer, n=1,265

Next, we asked people if they had ever lied to someone on April Fool's Day, and nearly half (45%) of them said they had. Additionally, among those who have lied, only 16% responded that their lie was "completely successful" or "somewhat successful." This suggests that people are subconsciously aware that they will be told lies on April Fool's Day, so the success rate is not that high. When asked what specific lies they had stumbled upon, one woman in her 20s said, "I surprised him by telling him I was pregnant," and another said, "When we weren't married yet, I sent him an email announcing that I was married."" (woman in her 30s) and others said, "I started laughing when I told it" (man in his 60s) and "I was grinning too much and got caught out" (woman in her 30s). On the other hand, those who were unsuccessful were often those who failed from the start because they laughed when they told the lie first.

Q: Are there any memorable April Fool's lies you've told in the past?

*Answer method: free response, n=1,265

On April Fool's Day, companies and media outlets alike rush to publish funny lies as if they were the truth, and many people end up falling for them. When asked about the most memorable lie from past April Fool's Days, the most common answer was the BBC's "Flying Penguins."This is a fake program that the British broadcaster BBC airs every April Fool's Day. "Flying Penguins" was broadcast in 2008 and shows a penguin walking on the ground suddenly taking flight. Additionally, the lies that many people chose were mostly from overseas.

The main answers, including "flying penguins," are as follows:

★ "I was amazed by the video of penguins gliding through the sky" (Male, 60s)
★ "Dragon Quest-style map on Google Maps" (Male, teens)
★ "Nessie discovered in Loch Ness" (Male, teens)
★ "Sankt Gallen (beer manufacturer) acquires the 'Totari Beer' brand" (Male, 30s)
★ "On an overseas news program, they saw pasta hanging from a tree and said, 'This year's pasta harvest is poor and farmers are in trouble...'" (Male, 40s)
★ "Big Ben will be changed to a digital display" (Male, 50s)
★ "Foreign airlines falsely report that overweight passengers will be charged extra" (Woman in her 20s)
★ "The fake websites about live-action and film adaptations are so well-made that you can't help but believe them, and it's fun to look at" (Woman in her 20s)
★"News broke overseas that aliens had invaded, and many people believed it. ” (Female in her 30s)
★ "Last year's Hanamaru Udon "King squid tempura"" (Woman in her 40s)
★ "Yahoo! Babubabu news: online fake news about meat from a baby's perspective" (Woman in her 30s)
★ "Tokyo Shimbun: 'Kin-san and Gin-san were triplets and had a baby too'" (Woman in her 50s)

Q: When you think of "lies," is there any music, movie, or book that comes to mind?

*Answer method: free response, n=1,265

There are many entertainment works out there that relate to lies, but when asked what music, movies, or books come to mind when they hear the word "lies," the most popular answers in each genre were "Lies" (released in 1974) by Kiyoshi Nakajo in the music category, "Liar Game," a manga by Shinobu Kaitani that was released in theaters in 2010, and "The Sting," which was released in theaters in 1973 and won Best Picture at the 46th Academy Awards, and "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," Aesop's fable.

The main works that people remember when they hear the word "lie" are as follows:

Music
・Kiyoshi Nakajo "Lie"
・SID "Lie"
・B'z "Liar! Liar!"
・Akashiya Sanma "A blatant lie"
・Yumi Matsutoya "The Last Lie"

●Movies
・"Liar Game"
・"Sting"
・"Sex, Lies and Videotape"
・"Big Fish"
・"Liar Liar"
・"Life is Beautiful"
・"Roman Holiday"
・"My Girlfriend Loves Lies Too Much"

●Book
・Aesop's Fable "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"
・"Pinocchio"
・Keigo Higashino "Secret"
・Shinji Arakawa "Your Lie in April"
M. Scott Peck, "The Liar"

■ Survey Overview
Survey method: Internet (T Survey)
Survey period: March 19th (Wed) to March 26th (Wed), 2014
Survey area: Nationwide
Survey subjects: Men and women aged 16 to 69 (T members)
Sample size: 1,265 people
10～20代    30～40代    50～60代    合計
男性    185人    279人    150人    614人
女性    180人    301人    170人    651人
合計    365人    580人    320人    1,265人

■What is the T Survey?
This is one of the largest online research services in Japan, with 8 million T-CARD users registered. All members who complete research and surveys will be rewarded with T-POINT. In addition, the responses you provide will be processed as statistical information and used by companies and media outlets for product development and service planning. Each and every opinion we receive from our members will be an important key point in creating a bright future for people, companies, and Japan.
CCC offers marketing solutions to companies, from planning surveys through "T Surveys" to compiling and analyzing them as a research program tailored to their needs.

Materials related to this matter

"April Fool's Day Survey"

Inquiries regarding this matter
■Inquiries regarding the press release:
Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd.
Public Relations Officer: Ando
TEL: 03-6800-4464

■Inquiries regarding the T Survey:
Sales representatives: Kosaka, Yoshida, Nagayama
MAIL: dbwatch@ccc.co.jp
TEL: 03-6800-4561