When the "immersive experience" promised in the AI ad was turned into a sparsely decorated warehouse, the children burst into tears and called to the site of the "Willy Chocolate Experience" in Glasgow, Scotland.
According to reports, the organization behind the campaign, the House of Light, was charged? 35 tickets (about $45) for an afternoon of activities based on the Timothée Chalamet Wonka. The campaign is advertised with AI renderings filled with lollipop forests, gummy waterfalls, pegasus, giant mushrooms, and other fantastical, larger-than-reality scenarios that promise "a place where chocolate dreams come true."
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When hundreds of parents arrived with their families, they were greeted by a dilapidated factory with dirty windows and an exposed air-conditioning system, several plastic candy bars and other rented props scattered across the bare concrete floor.
Frustrated families reported that the "whimsical" oompa loompas turned out to be struggling actors who frantically recited scripts that had been distributed the night before the event. The actors reportedly wrote on social ** that they were asked to improvise with props that weren't even there when they arrived.
Customer Stuart Sinclair wrote on Facebook that an event that was supposed to provide an hour of entertainment took about two minutes, with the main attraction being people lining up to complain to panicked organizers.
Sinclair wrote that he drove two hours to the event with his two sons and four-year-old daughter. "It's described as a complete experience with Willy Wonka and chocolate fountains, and a great day out for the kids," he wrote. ”。I wouldn't recommend this company for anything. Sinclair described the experience as "absolutely" and House of Light did not immediately respond to Gizmodo's request for comment.
The House of Light reportedly offered a full refund to 850 customers and canceled the event a day later.