News Analysis
The Gist
- Event failure sparks virality. The "Willy's Chocolate Experience" in Glasgow ended in disaster, sparking a viral sensation and police involvement.
- Over-reliance on AI. The event's failure was partly due to an over-reliance on AI, leading to unrealistic expectations and a lack of genuine content.
- Lessons for marketers. Event planners should use AI for content development and personalized experiences, ensuring technology supports rather than dominates the event.
Few events end up going so wrong that it ends up with children in tears and the police getting called. But that’s exactly what happened at the failed “Willy’s Chocolate Experience,” in Glasgow, Scotland, an event that went viral for all the wrong reasons.
The event advertised a magical universe of Willy Wonka, marketed as an immersive and interactive family adventure complete with dreamlike AI-generated imagery. The reality, however, fell disastrously short, transforming high hopes into widespread disappointment and mockery.
Inside the Viral Willy Wonka Event
The Wonka event took place in a sparsely decorated warehouse that was far from the enchanting world promised to attendees. The worst part, one attendee told CBS News? There wasn’t even any chocolate.
Police were called to an 'immersive event' inspired by Willy Wonka in Glasgow after furious parents complained about the quality of the event. https://t.co/8BIz7jOESm pic.twitter.com/hqpgeNB9uk
— STV News (@STVNews) February 26, 2024
There were only a handful of props in the warehouse, along with some jelly beans and lemonade, according to event-goers.
One viral image showed an actor dressed as an Oompa Loompa amidst what appeared to be chemistry equipment, drawing unfavorable comparisons to a meth lab. Another actor, dubbed “The Unknown,” played the non-canon villain of the experience, jumping out from behind props in an attempt to “steal” confectionary inventions.
This photo from the Willy wonka experience is single handedly the photo of the year. I know it’s only February but close the vote there’s no topping this. Please find this woman she needs to be interviewed ASAP pic.twitter.com/97wsodLLpQ
— 🇱🇹 (@agneponx) February 27, 2024
Amidst demands for refunds and children crying, some attendees called the police, according to BBC News. While the experience was set to run for two days, it was canceled midway through the first day after the event organizers, House of Illuminati, began to receive complaints.
The fallout has already led to a one-hour documentary on the catastrophe, talks of a potential movie, street murals, a musical parody called “Willy Fest” and hundreds of memes.
NEW: A mural has appeared paying homage to the viral Glasgow Willy Wonka experience.
— The National (@ScotNational) March 10, 2024
The creator said they 'couldn't resist' making one as it pays homage to some of the characters featured at the event. pic.twitter.com/sztslED3G2
House of Illuminati issued a formal apology, acknowledging the chaos and disappointment caused by the event. In a now-deleted social media post, the company wrote: "We fully apologize for what has happened and will be giving full refunds to each and every person that purchased tickets."
Still, however, some attendees claim they have yet to receive a refund. A Facebook group called “House of Illuminati scam” has also been created and currently has more than 4,000 members.
Related Article: AI Marketing Tools 2024: When Hype Meets Reality
Wonka Event Planners’ Over-Reliance on AI
The Willy Wonka Experience, rather than delivering a world of pure imagination, instead united the internet in disbelief and laughter, serving as a modern cautionary tale about the expectations set by marketing versus the reality of execution.
House of Illuminati director Billy Coull blamed “technical issues” for the event’s shortcomings, according to STV News.
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“Unfortunately there was unforeseen circumstances and the event didn’t come to light,” Coull said. “These issues were technological in nature. We had ordered a holographic paper that didn’t arrive on time. The holographic technology in itself is absolutely fabulous technology and unfortunately there was a delay in postage.”
Despite this technical setback, many point to an over-reliance on artificial intelligence as the true culprit behind the event’s flaws.
Actor Paul Connell, who played Willy Wonka at the event, told BBC Radio’s "Good Morning Scotland" that he was given a 15-page script of AI-generated gibberish to learn days beforehand.
“We know event planners have been weaving AI into projects to improve efficiency and automate tasks," said Doug Baird, president at RainFocus. “One thing they can’t do is rely solely on AI to do their jobs for them. What we witnessed with the Willy Wonka experience is precisely what happens when marketers rely too heavily on technology without proper guidelines: a fraudulent experience.”
Where event planners went wrong, Baird added, is that they only used AI to focus on content creation. “The real magic with AI happens when it’s used for both content development and personalized experiences. The event missed the mark because it only had half of the equation.”
How Event Marketers Can Use AI the Right Way
AI should be integrated into the execution of events with the purpose of understanding your audience and creating hyper-personalized experiences based on that information, according to Baird.
“One of the main concerns of using tools like generative AI is that it’s trained against the entire universe of data that exists on the internet,” he explained. “AI engines can be more useful by using proprietary human inputs and creating a fenced-in set of data for it to pull from.”
This fenced-in set of data, he added, could be first-party data about your customers or general messaging or information about the specific event the AI might not know. Then, you can use that against the readily accessible data that’s relevant to your customer groups.
“With quality data inputs, the AI output can be trusted,” Baird said. “It leads to a better understanding of your audience, making the marketing materials more relevant to them (resulting in more sales), and the event experience more meaningful.”
The biggest lesson event marketers can take away from the failed Willy Wonka Experience? Make sure your AI engine is grounded in reality, said Baird.
“Over-promising and under-delivering is not new to the marketing and events world — think Fyre Festival circa 2017. AI should be used within a set structure or process, not as a tool with total autonomy that lacks boundaries. Without those boundaries, AI has an infinite imagination, as seen with the Willy Wonka experience.”
When used correctly to develop content and create better personalized experiences, said Baird, your AI engine is a tool that will support you in reaching your target audience with the information they care about and delivering on their expectations for an event experience.
