No Fake Lemons

Peter Doak
May 5
2 min read

I was lucky enough to visit the Johnnie Walker Experience recently.

It was exceptional.

Everything you’d expect:

Beautiful setting
Thoughtful storytelling
Strong sense of history
Guided tasting
Seamless journey from entry to purchase

It felt like stepping into a high-end, perfectly executed advert.

Introduction

Personalisation

Education

Tasting

And, of course, the gift shop at the end.

Every detail felt considered.

Until one didn’t.

The Fake Lemons

In one of the rooms, there was a display.

A bowl of lemons.

Except they weren’t real.

They were fake.

Small thing. Easy to miss.

But I noticed it. And I overheard someone else notice it too.

Why It Matters

A couple of weeks later, I saw the same thing again.

A pretzel stand at the cinema. A bowl of fake lemons.

There, it made sense.

It’s quick. Functional. Expected.

But in an experience where:

People are paying to be there
Every touchpoint is curated
There’s a £10,000 bottle in the gift shop

…it doesn’t fit.

Details Build, And Break, Trust

The experience was designed to feel premium.

Real. Crafted. Authentic.

Fake lemons don’t belong in that world.

And while it didn’t ruin the experience,it did something more subtle:

It chipped away at it.

Because once you notice something like that, you start to question:

What else isn’t quite what it seems?
Where else were corners cut?

That’s how trust erodes, not in big moments, but in small inconsistencies.

What This Means for Brands

Most brands don’t lose trust through major failures.

They lose it through:

Small shortcuts
Inconsistent details
Things that “almost” meet the standard

And in isolation, each one seems insignificant.

But together, they define the experience.

The Standard Has to Be Consistent

If you position yourself as premium,everything has to follow that standard.

Not just the big things.

The small things too.

Especially the small things.

Final Thought

People notice more than you think.

And they remember what doesn’t feel right.

No fake lemons.

If you want your marketing and customer experience to feel consistent from first click to final purchase, that’s exactly what we focus on at PDG Advertising.

Because the difference is rarely in the big idea.

It’s in the details.

Take a look right here: www.pdgadvertising.com