Lipton spills the tea on peachy April Fool's prank

Beverage company Lipton has caused an uproar with an early April Fool's Day prank. In an Instagram post last Tuesday (18 March), Lipton shared the devasating news that it would be discontinuing its iconic peach-flavoured ice tea. 

The "Rest in peach" post acknowledged the hurt it had caused and assured fans that the loved flavour may make a legendary comeback in the future. "We appreciated your understanding during this period of adjustment and apologise for any inconvenience caused," it added. 

Fans around the world were devastated by the news, with several TikTok users sharing their despair through hilarious clips. 

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"My day has been ruined," one TikTok user wrote, posting a video of themselves falling to their knees. 

Others posted about how they were "hoarding" the beloved flavour before it ran out. 

A day later, the beverage giant revealed that its previous announcement was an early April Fool's joke, assuring fans that the peach ice tea was here to stay. 

"I'd never take away your favourite flavour, pookies," the post read. Lipton also revealed that it will be sending a surprise to the biggest fans with the best reactions of the tea's discontinuation. 

While fans were relieved to hear that their favoruite tea flavour was here to stay, some were "affected" by Lipton's prank. 

"I saw my life flash before my eyes," one TikTok user wrote. 

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Lipton for more information. 

Lipton isn't the only brand in recent times to have stirred the online pot with a seemingly harmless stunt. In February this year, Duolingo unveiled that its mascot, Duo, had passed on. In an Instagram post, the online language learning app shared the puzzling news with the public. 

"Authorities are currently investigating his cause of death and we are cooperating fully," the statement read, with Duolingo cheekily insinuating that their mascot most likely died while waiting for users to complete their lessons. Many Duolingo users mourned the loss of the iconic mascot, with some rushing to complete their language lessons on the app. 

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