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Has any good come from the Glasgow Wonka experience?
Amplify's creative director Alex Wilson relfects upon the Glasgow Wonka Experience.
Published by: The Drum
Date: 01/03/2024
It was advertised as the "place where chocolate dreams become reality", but those who paid £35 a ticket for 'Willy's chocolate experience' in Glasgow two weeks ago were left disappointed.
The website advertising the immersive experience featured AI-generated images of a confectionery and chocolate-fuelled fantasy world inspired by the Roald Dahl novel. But guests were ushered through a space some described as "little more than an abandoned, empty warehouse,” in which there were actors performed an AI-generated script (according to one of the actors), alongside scarce props, half a cup of a fizzy drink and a couple of jelly beans per person.
It reportedly ended with some disatisfied visitors, crying children, the police being called and an abrupt closure.
Creator of the experience, House of Illuminati, has offered the 850 attendees refunds. Director Billy Coull also apologised on the company's Facebook page.
He said: "I want to extend my sincerest apologies to each and every one of you who was looking forward to this event. I understand the disappointment and frustration this has caused, and for that, I am truly sorry. It’s important for me to clarify that the organisation and decisions surrounding this event were solely my responsibility."
So while their event did go viral, it perhaps wasn’t for the reasons Coull and his colleagues had anticipated.
Aside from the vast array of memes and a horror film inspired by the event reportedly in the works, has anything positive come from the event? Campaign asked the experts.
The birth of 2024’s "So bad, it's good" trend? The Glasgow Wonka Experience is legitimately terrible.
However, as a society, usually within the film and entertainment worlds, products and IPs that are considered irredeemably awful do find audiences that embrace their woeful efforts, at times elevating them to cult status.
Sony's 2022 release Morbius and this year's Madame Webb have been victims of online mocking, and meme’d into oblivion, but the mockery did create a second wave of viewership. Amid every crisis lies great opportunity. In fact, Scottish local and film star Karen Gillan posted that she wanted to be cast in the on-screen adaption of the Wonka scam.
Our industry isn’t exactly guilt-free when it comes to exploiting and harnessing these moments, so maybe Q2/Q3 will be the start of an anti-premium movement of "so bad, it's good" brand experiences.
Will we see stripped-back, sparse productions and ironically bad executions? I wouldn’t put it past us.
To read the full article, visit Campaign.