Ramil Albano shows the tattoo on his forehead of the name of the Takoyaki resto that made the April Fool's Day challenge. Andrea Taguines, ABS-CBN News. 

MANILA (UPDATED) — A takoyaki seller who went viral after a supposed April Fools' prank went wrong has admitted that the incident was a social media stunt that had been planned since 2023.

In a video that ran nearly 11 minutes, the owner of the takoyaki store said that Ramil Albano — who played the part of a social media user "fooled" into having the store's logo tattooed on his forehead — had long agreed to get the tattoo done. 

Albano got inked on March 28, a few days before the prank was posted on Facebook.

"Bakit sa noo? Dahil kung hindi sa noo ay mawawalan lang ng saysay ang tattoo dahil wala nang nakakawili pa sa isang brand logo na nakatatak sa noo ng isang tao," the business owner said.

(Why on the forehead? Because if wasn't on the forehead, there would be no point. There is nothing more engaging than a brand logo inked on someone's forehead.)

The brand had pretended that Albano got the tattoo done because he thought the P100,000 offered by the takoyaki seller was a legitimate promo. The owner said he wanted to make his brand go viral because he was not getting the level of engagement he wanted.

"Oo, nagsinungaling ako sa inyo at gusto kong humingi ng tawad. Dinala namin kayo rito sa isang malaking marketing stunt na may iba't ibang klaseng emosyon, diskusyon, at pagpapakitang tao," he added.

(Yes, I lied and I am sorry. We strung you along on a marketing stunt that involved a lot of emotions, discussions and acting.)

READ: Takoyaki resto in April Fool's tattoo prank may face sanctions: DTI

'Problematic social media stunt'

Digital media researcher Fatima Gaw, a former UP professor now taking postgraduate studies at Northwestern University in the US, said that the takoyaki stunt is "not new" in the sense that marketing campaigns have used "varying degrees of deception" to create buzz for brands and products.

"But only well-planned campaigns consider the intents and risks of such manipulation," she told ABS-CBN News in an online exchange. Among the risks of a poorly-planned campaign are harm to other people and the potential of consumer backlash.

"I think what made this recent social media stunt problematic is that they might not have considered the real economic vulnerability of some Filipino social media users who might have taken the challenge seriously," Gaw said, adding the campaign did not seem strategic and seemed in bad taste.

Many social media users who reacted to the stunt had initially called out the takoyaki seller for potentially putting people who really needed the money in an embarrassing situation.

Gaw added that even if the takoyaki brand page had included disclaimers as the stunt went viral, those might have been lost as the posts spread beyond their original intent.

"It's the same reason why disinformation stays potent even after fact-checking."

Tick these off your joke list: What not to do for April Fools’ Day

'Uncovered by internet sleuths'

Social media users called out the owner stressing how people engaged with the post because people wanted to help Albano out.

"Hindi naman aamin yan kung hindi napansin talaga ng mga netizens eh. Ang ending, nasisisi pa mga gusto tumulong. Syempre, kahit sino naman na tutulong eh aatras pag suspicious na mga galawan nila," one said.

Another social media user said she hopes that other contenr creators don't copy the takoyaki seller's stunt.

"Sabi sa values education namin, the end will never justify the means. Pinasakay mo ang buong bansa for the sole reason na umingay ang T******. Kaso nabuko ka, at 'yun ang wala sa plano mo," the netizen said.

(We were taught in Values Education that the end will never justify the means. You took us for a ride just to make noise for your brand. But you got found out.)

The social media user added that stunts like that will diminish people's trust in influencers and vloggers.

"Baka lahat na lang fordashow. Mema lang po."

(It could all just be for content. Just noise and nonsense.) 

'Backlash shows audience are critical consumers of media'

Backlash to the stunt on social media shows how audiences are now more aware of marketing gimmicks that “blur or stretch our notions of truth,” said Marlon Nombrado, co-founder of Out of the Box Media Literacy Initiative.

“If they are genuinely sorry, you can say that this can serve as a lesson to online content creators to be more conscious of the ethics involved in their craft,” he said.

He said, though, that if the engagement gained from the stunt outweighs the repercussions of it, that could prompt other content creators or brands to try similar gimmicks.

“To this end, magandang mapalakas yung pag-integrate ng critical media literacy and media ethics sa practices ng online content creation communities,” he said.

(It would be good for online content creation communities to integrate critical media literacy and media ethics in their practices.)

He said that media consumers are correct to be discerning of what they consume and pass along.

“Besides finding out whether a piece of content is staged, scripted or distributed in a coordinated fashion, media users should be more conscious of the effects of the media they consume,” he said, adding that that includes how media can affect their values and worldview. — with Jonathan de Santos, ABS-CBN News