How does one explain the surreal elements of the Internet bubble? How did we get ourselves into a mess? Joseph finds a good explanation from Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”.

Something different this week, which stems from a few conversations with fellow industry colleagues, who all urged me to write this. It’s kind of light-hearted, but don’t mistake this to be superficial at all. Indeed – it has a pivotal undertone, which has become our biggest challenge in our day-to-day professional lives, namely explaining to the skeptical and reticent that when it comes to the Interactive Value Proposition: what was was, and should not be confused with the compelling and very real opportunity that presents itself to us today.

How does one explain the surreal elements of the Internet bubble? How did we get ourselves into this mess in the first place? And how are we going to pull ourselves out of the pit of despair (for all you Princess Bride fans out there)?

Believe it or not, I found a good explanation from Willy Wonka – and more specifically, Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

Think about the four characters that all fell by the wayside during their visit to the Factory. What did they all have in common? Well, first of all they were all kids. They were young, spoilt, arrogant and myopic; with a sense of entitlement second to none. Remind you of anyone you once knew?

Take the first culprit, Augustus Gloop. Augustus was just plain greedy. His eyes were bigger than his stomach – or was it the other way around? Augustus symbolizes those that were in the business for the wrong reasons: to make a quick buck; to get rich fast; to exit before they’d properly entered. Augustus placed an emphasis on quantity over quality (kind of like the way the media community values reach if you think about it.) Augustus is remnant of the Get Big Fast period, which clearly demonstrated the fact that it takes time and considered effort to build up a loyal viewer base, which can then be monetized and leveraged.

Augustus ate too much…too quickly. He fell into a pool of his own desire. He was not missed.

Next came Violet Beauregarde, the gum-obsessed delinquent who met her demise while sampling gum-under-development, which was supposed to be the perfect replacement for all other foods. Violet’s over-reliance on gum came in lieu of a balanced diet. Her hope of the magic gum replacing all other foods proved to be naïve. Violet’s Internet analogy is reminiscent of all those who felt that the Interactive would replace all other forms of advertising. The triumphant New Economy had dismissively replaced the traditional and obsolete Old One. Instead of complementing a balanced mix of media, the eViolets sought to create a substitute for it.

Isolationism over Integration proved to be the perfect path to malnutrition for poor old Violet, who was subsequently rolled away for juicing.

Veruka Salt was the third in line, infamously remembered by her four-word war-cry, “I want it NOW!” Veruka was the quintessential brat who lived in an instant-gratification world, where she got what she wanted; when she wanted, how she wanted. Veruka reminds us of those pony-tailed twenty-something executives who barged into client meetings with a list of demands and conditions that had to be met to the letter (and number) in order for them to lower themselves to accepting the mega-million multi-year deals of yesteryear.

Veruka met her match in search of the golden goose. Thus, she would also represent the narrow-minded focus on short-term metrics as the silver bullet in order to judge the effectiveness of online campaigns. With limited metrics, inaccurate measurements and unrealistic expectations, it is no wonder that unequivocal ROI became the elusive pot at the end of the Web Rainbow.

Veruka ended up being dumped down the garbage shoot when her rantings became a little too much to bear.

Finally, good old Mike TeeVee, the gun-toting, television-loving addict bursts onto the scene. His desire to be on TV ends up condemning him to a fraction of his former self … and an IQ of three. Mike’s character has a number of implications for our business. On one hand, we are reminded about the dot-com obsession towards appearing on television, with the Superbowl at the pinnacle of this summit. On the other hand, it still manifests itself in our still-present inferiority complex towards television. Part of us want to be just like Mike (apologies to Mr. Jordon), while others are hell-bent on rubbing salt (not Veruka) on the exposed wounds of the ailing network-based television model (can you say TiVo?).

If only JK Rowling had been around, Mike might have found a better outlet for his creativity and imagination. Instead, he wound up being wheeled to the taffy-pulling room to be stretched back to normal size.

The last boy standing happened to be Charlie Bucket. Almost eliminated by sampling the Fizzy lifting drink without permission, Charlie redeems himself when he gives back the Everlasting Gobstopper to Willy Wonka. His reward is to live happily ever after in the Chocolate Factory, as the heir apparent to an aging Willy Wonka.

At this point, I want to turn this analogy over to your hands. Who does Charlie Bucket represent? What about Willy Wonka or his Chocolate Factory? And whom exactly do the Oompa-Loompas symbolize?

Or on a more serious note, answer me this: What’s the Golden Ticket that will help us get to the next level – in terms of continuing to build our industry, legitimizing the medium and helping to grow the overall pie? Realistic expectations, integration, smarter metrics or interactivity? Creativity, brand studies or research? No more pop-ups, money back guarantees, solving the branding conundrum or education.

The factory floor is yours.