109 Times People Purchased Something Based On A Picture And Got Something Completely Different

Comedy rises and falls on surprise, and nothing surprises more than the gap between what we think will happen and what happens. That is why “What I ordered vs. What I got” pictures are a staple of the internet, especially in the fields of online retailing and quick eats. Basically, these images work because they use one of the oldest devices in comedy, the breaking of expectations.

When you hit “buy now” online, you’re buying a promise of a sort. That seductive picture of a flowing gown that will slide like silk, the fast food advertisement with a burger heaped high with inexplicably fresh lettuce, or the sleek device that appears to have been ripped from a sci-fi movie, the entire experience forms a mental picture.

Comedy, though, runs into disaster when reality knocks on your door and bears no resemblance to the fantasy. That “luxury dress” is made of cheap polyester and fits a kid. The burger is a thin patty hiding in a dismal smear of lettuce. The science-fiction device? A fragile bit of plastic that can’t seem to function.

The joke works because the setup is relatable. Everybody has, at some point, been a victim of the gap between marketing and actuality. That common disappointment is turned into laughter when another person records it. Rather than just commiserating about disappointment, people embrace it by making their bad luck entertainment. This makes the subversion more digestible, it’s not just about being disappointed, it’s about catching the humor in being disappointed.

The structure here is almost identical with that of the traditional joke form. The anticipation is the “setup,” carefully built with pictures of perfection. The “punchline” is the surprise: a deformed cake, a deformed stuffed animal, or food that looks as if it has been dropped on the floor and then placed on the table. Because the punchline is something that one can view and something that is often enhanced through contrast, it strikes immediately and en masse, no language ability necessary. It’s comedy in its most universal sense.

A second way these expectation mismatch posts succeed is through their built-in sincerity. Advertising relies on deception, on exactly choreographed images designed to persuade. “What I got” photos take that away, exposing the rough, disappointing, and hilariously imperfect reality. It’s a raw moment in a world of presentation sheen, and truth, when it defies artifice, has always been fertile ground for comedy.

There is also a thread of resolve here. Laughter instead of pouting over frustration, and in doing so, reclaiming some control in a situation that otherwise is helpless. You might not be able to return that ugly dress or refund your miserable burger, but you can at least garner some likes, chucklesand solidarity online.

“What I ordered vs. What I got” works because it universalizes one of the lesser tragedies of life and makes it funny. There’s humor in the shock, the surprise no one expects, and there are few surprises more reliable than expecting beauty and receiving anarchy instead. And by embracing difference, the internet has provided us with a kind of humor that’s not just actual but long-lasting, since disappointment will always find ways to seep into our lives, and the best way to handle it is usually to laugh.