Willy's Chocolate Experience
From Invertopedia, the encyclopedia of how things fail
Willy's Chocolate Experience was a children's event in a Glasgow warehouse, sold with AI-generated pictures of a candy wonderland[1][9]. Families paid up to £35 a ticket[1][5], found a sparsely decorated warehouse with a few props, and were handed a jelly bean or two[1][7][9]. The organiser, House of Illuminati, cancelled it partway through the first day, police were called, and it promised refunds for all 850 transactions[2][3][7].
Contents
The bet
House of Illuminati bet that pictures could sell the event before the event existed. Its website promised "extraordinary props, oversized lollipops, and a paradise of sweet treats"[1] and a "chocolate fantasy like never before"[3], with chocolate fountains and Oompa Loompas[7]. The images showed lollipop forests, jellybean waterfalls and giant mushrooms[5]. The website said it had no official affiliation with Warner Bros.[1]
What happened
| Late 2023 | House of Illuminati is incorporated, about three months before the event, according to Companies House.[1] |
|---|---|
| Early 2024 | The website and ads run images that show signs of AI, especially strange and nonsensical lettering. Reverse image searches find no source for them.[1][9] |
| Feb 23, 2024 | Actors rehearse on the Friday. They are handed scripts the night before, and two of them later say the script read as AI-written gibberish.[1][5] |
| Feb 24, 2024 | Hundreds of families arrive at a gutted warehouse with bare concrete floors, a few rented props and a half-inflated bouncy castle. There is no chocolate.[5][9] |
| Feb 24, 2024 | Actors are told to drop the script and improvise. Parents demand refunds, police are called, and the organiser cancels the event partway through the first day.[1][3] |
| Feb 24, 2024, night | House of Illuminati posts an apology on Facebook: it says it "should have cancelled first thing this morning" and will give full refunds.[6] |
| Feb 26 – 29, 2024 | The event spreads online, where attendees call it the "Fyre Festival for kids." The organiser says it has issued 850 refunds.[1][7] |
| Mar 12, 2024 | The hand-painted "Event Cancelled" sign sells on eBay for £840 for the Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity. Some families are still out of pocket.[2] |
| Apr 2024 | Unaffiliated Los Angeles artists stage a knowing copy, with $44 tickets; the organizers said they would give the proceeds to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.[8] |
The kill shot
The ads promised something the venue never had. Every picture was of a place nobody had built, so the event failed the moment the first family walked in.
Nothing in the marketing could be checked against reality. Reverse image searches found no source for the pictures, some showed the garbled lettering typical of AI images, and the company did not say whether it had used AI[1]. Inside, there were a few props, a plastic chocolate item and one sweet per child[3]. One parent said the children got a jelly bean and half a cup of lemonade[9].
When the gap showed at the door, there was nothing to fall back on. The organiser said the event "just did not take shape"[6] and that it had been "let down in many areas" at the last minute[3]. Police Scotland said officers attended and "advice was given"[3][6].
Red flags ignored
- No photos of the real thing. The ads used renderings, and reverse image searches found no source for them.[1][5]
- Garbled words on the posters. Strange, nonsensical lettering is a common mark of AI images.[1]
- A company months old. House of Illuminati had been incorporated about three months before.[1]
- A script the night before. Actors got their lines the evening before opening and were then told to improvise with props that weren't there.[5]
- The venue disowned it. Box Hub said it only rented out the space.[1][3]
The cost
Tickets cost up to £35[1], hundreds of families came[3], and the organiser said all 850 transactions would be refunded[2][7]. Refunds were said to take up to 10 working days[6], and more than two weeks later STV reported that some families were still out of pocket[2]. Actors had been promised £500 for the weekend[1].
The inversion
Make the poster from photos of the real thing. If you can't photograph it yet, you can't sell it yet.
What survived
The joke. The event became an internet meme[8]. Box Hub offered to host a free event for the families[1] and gave the money from its "Event Cancelled" sign to a children's hospital charity[2]. Two months later, Los Angeles artists with no link to the original sold a deliberate copy of the decor, two free jelly beans included, to people who knew exactly what they were buying[8].
References
- ^ “A Willy Wonka-inspired experience 'scam' was so bad that people called the cops”. NBC News (Angela Yang), via NBC Bay Area, February 27, 2024. Box Hub venue, House of Illuminati incorporated about three months earlier, £35 tickets, website promises, Warner Bros. disclaimer, AI signs and reverse image searches, scripts, £500 for actors, police called, refunds, Box Hub's statement and free-event offer, "Fyre Festival for kids".
- ^ “Willy Wonka 'event cancelled' sign raises hundreds for charity”. STV News, March 12, 2024. Whiteinch venue, cancelled hours after opening, 850 transactions to be refunded, families still out of pocket, £840 sign auction for Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity.
- ^ “Kids left in tears and police called over 'shambolic' Willy Wonka-inspired event after parents forked out £35 per ticket”. LBC (Jenny Medlicott), February 26, 2024. Saturday event, £35 tickets, hundreds of families, "chocolate fantasy" promise, one sweet each, cancelled on day one, Police Scotland statement, organiser's "let down" statement, Box Hub's statement.
- ^ “Willy's Chocolate Experience”. Wikipedia. The February 24, 2024 date (cross-check).
- ^ “Cops Called to 'Willy Wonka Experience' as Crying Children Realize AI Ads Were Lies”. Gizmodo (Thomas Germain), February 27, 2024. Up to £35 tickets, the AI renderings, gutted warehouse with bare concrete floors, scripts handed out the night before, improvising with missing props, 850 refunds.
- ^ “Police called to Willy Wonka-inspired experience in Glasgow as families demand refunds”. Sky News via Yahoo News Australia, February 26, 2024. Cancelled midway through day one, Police Scotland statement, refunds within 10 working days, the organiser's Facebook apology.
- ^ “'Immersive' 'Willy Wonka' experience's viral disaster: Company issues 850 refunds”. CNN Newsource via Local 12, February 29, 2024. 850 refunds, promised chocolate fountains and Oompa Loompas, jelly beans and no chocolate.
- ^ “Viral Glasgow Willy Wonka 'Chocolate Experience' inspires Los Angeles event”. NBC News (Angela Yang), April 29, 2024. The meme, the unaffiliated Los Angeles copy, $44 tickets, free jelly beans, planned donation of proceeds to NAMI.
- ^ “'Wonka' experience in Glasgow ends in chaos, police called over AI-generated advertisements”. ABC News via ABC7, March 1, 2024. AI-generated images, half-inflated bouncy castle, no chocolate, a jelly bean and half a cup of lemonade.