A convincing promise
A small but persistent annoyance makes the imagined offer unusually appealing.
Read caption text
- The tempting offer
- Down here, every cable fits
Also called Pennywise Gets You · Clown in the Drain · Pennywise Offer
Pennywise peers out of a drain, followed by pictures of someone climbing into one. Give the clown an absurdly tempting offer and let the lower strip supply the eager response.
The joke exaggerates how quickly a particular offer can overcome someone’s better judgment. A frightening invitation becomes appealing because of one very specific promise.
The bottom strip already shows the decision. One line from the clown is usually enough to explain the imagined temptation.
The upper image shows Tim Curry as Pennywise in the 1990 television adaptation of Stephen King’s It. In the story, the clown speaks to Georgie from a storm drain. [1] [2]
The lower sequence comes from separate footage of a woman entering a drain to rescue a kitten. The montage became a meme about tempting offers after the trailer for the 2017 adaptation renewed attention to Pennywise. It does not show the woman entering a film scene. [2]
The television adaptation supplies the clown image used at the top of this template. [1]
Know Your Meme records a FunnyJunk demotivational poster using Pennywise in the drain. [2]
A documented Twitter post by @ezeqserra pairs Pennywise with the rescue images and a food offer. [2]
Add one promise across the dark drain area below the clown’s face. Leave the bottom three pictures clear so the action supplies the response.
A specific comfort, convenience, or long-awaited ending works better than a generic offer of “anything you want.” The mismatch between the small reward and the dramatic response is the joke.
Original captions to try with this template.
A small but persistent annoyance makes the imagined offer unusually appealing.
The response exaggerates how much someone wants an undisturbed trip.
The promise answers the frustration of a story ending without resolution.
References for this template. Example captions are original.
Confirms the 1990 adaptation and Tim Curry as Pennywise.
Traces the sewer-image meme and identifies the separate kitten-rescue footage in the montage.