2014-10-12
Explanation
The Joke
A mortgage broker sits behind a desk with a cauldron (like a witch's cauldron) and tells a couple: "Reach into the cauldron and pull out today's interest rate!" The caption below reads: "Apparently there was a limited audience for my 'spooooooky mortgage refinancing.'"
The joke is simply the absurd concept of combining Halloween-themed spooky theatrics with the mundane world of mortgage refinancing. The banker thought making the interest rate reveal into a mysterious, cauldron-based experience would be a fun gimmick, but unsurprisingly, people looking to refinance their mortgages are not interested in supernatural presentation.
The Humor
The humor lies in the complete mismatch between the sober, numbers-driven world of mortgage financing and the playful spookiness of Halloween. Mortgage refinancing is one of the most boring, practical financial transactions imaginable, and trying to make it exciting with a witch's cauldron is inherently absurd. The caption's deadpan acknowledgment that this was not a successful business strategy makes it even funnier -- the character seems genuinely surprised that people did not want their major financial decisions presented as a haunted house attraction. The comic also works as a seasonal October joke, playing on the ubiquity of businesses trying to add Halloween themes to their products and services, taken to an extreme where it clearly does not belong.