The Line You Can’t Cross In Your Marketing

Before he landed in prison, a self-proclaimed nobleman in northern Italy built an amphitheater on a hillside outside Vicenza.

Stone seating and steps, cement columns, plaster statues.

Then he told everyone the ancient Greeks built it.

He said he found it after a landslide. He claimed it dated to 393 AD. He spun a tale about Julius Caesar stopping there on his way home from Egypt with Cleopatra. In 2014, he began charging 40 euros a head to tour the “ancient ruins.”

Neighbors complained. The cops dropped in. They weren’t fooled.

The shape was wrong. The materials were obviously modern. The name referenced the sea and the place sits 50 miles inland. And the Greeks never settled that far north in Italy.

Earlier this year, Franco Malosso went to prison. He’s serving 28 months for illegal construction, forgery of artworks, and the production of artifacts without authorization.

What a waste. He could have turned that hillside into a lucrative and legal business…

…if he had reframed the story.

Evidence: For centuries, English landowners have built fake ruins on their estates on purpose…

…crumbling towers that never stood whole. Some are protected landmarks now. For a few pounds, you can tour them and leave reviews on TripAdvisor.

The name for such a place: a “folly.”

Nobody went to prison for it. Because nobody claimed they discovered the “ruins.”

That’s the difference between folly and fraud.

Which brings us to marketing.

We construct stories. We pick the anecdotes. We decide where the story starts and what to omit.

You can shape the story. You can’t forge the pertinent facts.

The moment you claim the built thing was found, you’ve crossed over.

AI makes that crossing easier than it has ever been. It will build you a foundation in seconds and never once ask whether it’s true.

Before you create more marketing content — especially if you use AI — you need to know how to assemble captivating, client-getting stories the right way. I’ve compiled 52 strategies, tips, and tactics to show you how. Get them here.