How did the viral Willy Wonka experience go so wrong?

  • This happened to be an egregiously-bad example of these cheap, padded-out, pop-up shows that are everywhere.

    Anything that isn't run by a major museum or gallery is highly suspect in my book. I recall a Tutankhamun show that I think had National Geographic's name slapped on it, somewhere in London Docklands, that was fairly lame, but nothing compared to the lameness of a Tutankhamun show going on in Hamburg right now which is mostly words printed on posters, with the main event being a large empty room with projections on all the walls. Barely amusing and mainly a good chance for a sit-down.

    Similarly, there's a fake-o Body Worlds show going on, a bullshit Terracotta Army show on, and there's clearly money to be made.

    The one experience I can remember that blew everything out of the water was the Millennium Dome in London, circa 2000, simply amazing and mind-blowing. I went twice. Truly amazing experiences like these cost a fortune and take a age, and require top-tier talent to put on. Just like a West End theatre production.

  • This seems about as "not exactly as shown" as the video game box art of the 80s?

    Some examples: https://retrovolve.com/the-strange-and-wonderful-world-of-at...

    Look up the gameplay videos of any of those, and you may experience a similar feeling.

  • The cynic in me is upset at how easily exploited people are, but the optimist in me is happy at how overwhelmingly good most people are. There are scores of people out there (most of us included) who have the skills to pull something like this or the gpt4-written books thing who choose not to.

  • Why blame the ai when in fact it was poorly executed obviously with insufficient budget?

  • Pretty sure it didn't go wrong. The organizer got people's money on the cheap and that was the intention all along. It's pretty much the (im)moral of the 21st century.

  • Few people are asking why such a large proportion of the public are easily scammed, a status which is different to prior eras. The answer isn't education, fyi.

  • I yet have to find a non-overhyped and eventually disappointing event in the UK, to be honest. The only thing you can be certain of, is that you’ll pay a lot.

  • i cant find the link but maybe in the guardian, a similar scam regarding christmas fair / santa grotto was funny to read.

  • People are saying it’s a con by a fraudster but I get the sense that the organiser is potentially on the spectrum or otherwise at a disadvantage

  • > While Generative AI can give everyone the confidence and the joy to create wonderful images, there is a big lesson in this story for all marketing teams: these tools must be used responsibly," she said

    This is the most disgusting thing I've read all week.