Abstract
- Event failure causes virality. The Willy's Chocolate Experience in Glasgow ended in disaster, causing an online sensation and prompting police intervention.
- Overreliance on AI. The failure of the event was partially due to an over-reliance on AI, which led to unrealistic expectations and a lack of authentic content.
- Lessons for marketers. Event planners should use AI for content development and personalized experiences to ensure technology supports rather than dominates events.
There are few things that can go so wrong that the children are brought to tears or the police are called. But that's exactly what happened with the failed Willy's Chocolate Experience in Glasgow, Scotland, which went viral for the wrong reasons.
The event promoted the magical world of Willy Wonka as an immersive, interactive, family-friendly adventure with dream-like, AI-generated imagery. However, the reality was disastrously disappointing, and high hopes turned into disappointment and ridicule.
Inside the viral Willy Wonka event
The Wonka event took place in a sparsely decorated warehouse, a far cry from the enchanted world promised to attendees. The worst part is, one participant told CBS News. There wasn't even any chocolate.
Police were called to a Willy Wonka-inspired “immersive event” 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
Event attendees said the warehouse contained only jelly beans, lemonade and a few props.
One viral image shows an actor dressed as an Oompa Loompa inside what appears to be a chemical device, prompting unfavorable comparisons to a meth lab. Another actor, named “Unknown,” played the non-canon villain of the experience, jumping out from behind the props to “steal” the confectionery inventions.
This photo from the Willy Wonka experience is alone the photo of the year. I know it's still February for him, but I can't get any better so I'll close the voting.Find the woman you need to interview as soon as possible pic.twitter.com/97wsodLLpQ
— 🇱🇹 (@agneponx) February 27, 2024
Some participants called the police as their children cried and demanded refunds, BBC News reported. The experience was scheduled to run for two days, but was canceled midway through the first day after the event organizers, the House of Illuminati, began receiving complaints.
The aftermath has already led to an hour-long documentary about the disaster, talk of a possible film, street murals, a musical parody called “Willie Fest” and hundreds of memes.
NEW: A mural paying homage to Willy Wonka's popular experience in Glasgow has been unveiled.
The creators said they couldn't help but create it because it pays homage to some of the characters who appeared at the event. pic.twitter.com/sztslED3G2
— The National (@ScotNational) March 10, 2024
The Illuminati House has issued a formal apology, acknowledging the confusion and disappointment caused by this event. In a now-deleted social media post, the company said: “We fully apologize for this incident and will provide a full refund to everyone who purchased tickets.”
However, some participants claim they have not yet received their refunds. A Facebook group called “House of Illuminati Scam” has also been created, which currently has over 4,000 members.
Related article: AI Marketing Tools 2024: When hype meets reality
Wonka Event Planner’s overreliance on AI
Rather than delivering a world of pure imagination, The Willy Wonka Experience united the internet in disbelief and laughter, serving as a modern cautionary tale about the expectations set by marketing and the realities of execution.
According to STV News, Illuminati House director Billy Cole blamed the event's flaws on “technical issues.”
“Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, the incident did not come to light,” Cole said. “These problems were technical in nature. The holographic paper I ordered did not arrive on time. Holographic technology itself is truly amazing technology, but unfortunately there were delays in the mail. .”
Despite this technological setback, many point to over-reliance on artificial intelligence as the real culprit behind this 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 gibberish generated by AI and started learning it several days ago. He said he did.
“We know event planners are incorporating AI into their projects to improve efficiency and automate tasks,” said Doug Baird, president of RainFocus. “One thing they can't do is rely on AI alone. What we've seen is that Willy Wonka's experience is what happens when marketers rely too heavily on technology without proper guidelines: fraudulent It's an experience.”
Baird added that where event planners went wrong was using AI only to focus on content creation. “The real magic of AI happens when you use it for both content development and personalized experiences. This event missed the mark because it was only half the equation.”
How event marketers can use AI correctly
According to Baird, AI must be integrated into event execution with the goal of understanding the audience and creating hyper-personalized experiences based on that information.
“One of the main concerns when using tools like generative AI is that it is trained against the entire world of data that exists on the internet,” he explained. “AI engines become even more useful by using unique human inputs and creating enclosed data sets to draw from.”
This corralled set of data could be first-party data about the customer, general messages, or information about specific events that the AI may not know about, he added. You can then use it for readily accessible data related to your customer group.
“If you have high-quality data input, the output of AI will be reliable,” Baird says. “This improves your understanding of your audience, makes your marketing materials more relevant to them (resulting in increased sales), and makes your event experience more meaningful.”
What's the biggest lesson event marketers can take from the failed Willy Wonka experience? Make sure your AI engine is grounded in reality, Baird says.
“Over-promising and under-delivering is nothing new in the world of marketing and events – think back to Fyre Festival circa 2017. Without these boundaries, AI has unlimited imagination, as seen in Willy Wonka's experience.”
Baird says the ability to properly use AI engines to develop content and create more personalized experiences will help deliver information that is of interest to target audiences and meet their expectations for the event experience. He says it will be a tool.
