What makes it compelling for me is:
AI is involved, which is new
AI is involved, with poor results, which makes creatives happy because it supports the argument that it's not going to replace good old fashioned talent
Creatives make good memes/funny comments and are very online
The whole thing was a like a task from the apprentice, not a genuine business
The guy was over-confident and under-prepared
He rightly had his arse handed to him for being a cocky little prick and ripping people off, but also people felt sorry for him because he obviously got in over his head and hadn't really thought it through
The photos were very memeable
It's Glasgow, you never quite know if someone will laugh or punch you, so it could have all really kicked off and there's a sense of relief no-one went Smeato on the staff or the organiser
People are kind of glad they weren't there but also have a bit of fomo because it's the talk of the steamie and a bit of a you had to be there moment.
Also it was hyped on the Help what am I going to do today Facebook page which is a parenting subculture of its own. The drama/bants/outrage pipeline in there is fun when it gets going.
There's also something a bit specific to Glaswegian culture about this, people turning up for weird stuff just to be a part of it. Like the Gorbals Vampire, if you want to look it up.
The story really took hold locally, then spread through the internet.
People were ripped off, and travelled for it and it was expensive and there's a bit of snobbery and victim-blaming that comes into play here, the posters were riddled with spelling mistakes and that's often cited as something to look out for in scam emails. It was always going to be crap or a scam, unfortunately, because the quality just wasn't there, and hopefully it's reminded people of what to look out for and how to do a chargeback.