Unless you’ve been living under a rock or haven’t been on TikTok lately, I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of videos of the Willy Wonka Experience in Glasgow. If you’re anything like me, I was very confused when I saw the first posts about this pop up on my For You Page.
These pop-ups have taken the internet by storm and have amassed tens of millions of views. They piqued my interest, and I obviously wasn’t the only one. Somehow, this disastrous-looking event became an internet sensation almost overnight. There’s just something about the empty, barren warehouse with some lonely decorations and creepy-looking actors that’s hard to look away from.
Viewers on social media just couldn’t get enough of the content made about this experience. It truly looked like a candy factory straight out of my nightmares! But what really happened at this failed pop-up? Here’s a little run-down on the event.
WONKA GONE WRONG
When parents saw advertisements and bought tickets for Willy’s Chocolate Experience online, they were greeted with whimsical graphics and a description that promised a “visual spectacle,” “captivating live performances,” and “a paradise of sweet treats.” People’s expectations were high with all of these promises made, not to mention the hefty $44 ticket per person.
As noted by Vox, some people realized before the event that all of the advertising was AI-generated and wasn’t affiliated with the Wonka franchise and warned others to stay away from the possible scam. There were some inklings of a fishy situation going on because there were a noticeable number of AI-created typos and mistakes in the advertising. Still, I don’t think even those people could’ve predicted how bad it really was.
When the opening day for this immersive experience arrived, the attendees arrived and were sure in for a treat — a rotten one, that is. They entered a mostly barren warehouse with sparse decorations, small posters that were supposedly backdrops, folding tables, and cups of lemonade with some piddly jelly beans as their “paradise of sweet treats.”
They were also greeted by actors dressed up as Oompa Loompas, and one even dressed up as “The Unknown,” an AI-generated character for this experience who is an evil chocolate maker lurking in the walls of the factory. The actor playing The Unknown scared excited children at this experience by hiding behind a mirror with a cloak and a mask. As you can imagine, the kids scared of the The Unknown were not the happiest of campers.
It was almost like a really bad case of Tinder catfishing, and this Wonka Experience definitely did not look like it did in the pictures posted. It was so bad, in fact, that parents ended up calling the police to shut the misleading event down. I don’t blame them; I’d probably call the cops too if I went to a Wonka Chocolate Factory Experience and they didn’t even hand out any chocolate.
WHAT NOW?
Since this situation has gone viral, the actors hired for the Wonka Experience have spoken out publicly. Many have talked to news outlets about their negative experience with the company and event. The main actor spoke out in an article with Wired, saying the script he was given was “straight gibberish” and was worried that he’d never get paid.
This can serve as a large lesson to companies on how AI can be used in the wrong way. This event certainly could be a foreshadowing for lots of marketing in the future. Consumers will need to be able to avoid the disappointment felt by all who bought tickets to the Glasgow Wonka Chocolate Experience.
As a more recent development, this viral event might soon be making its way to the silver screen! It has been reported that The Unknown has inspired an indie horror film. Kaledonia Pictures, the production company behind this idea, is hoping to make the most out of this viral story that has captivated a global audience.
It’s easy to see how this ill-fated event gone wrong has quickly become a viral internet phenomenon. I’ll be interested to see how the implications of AI-generated marketing develop. In the meantime, maybe we’ll be heading to the theaters to see another movie involving Hollywood’s favorite chocolatier!
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