An introduction that became a recognizable script
Oriflame is a cosmetics company whose direct-sales model relies on consultants. For the meme story, the familiar way of starting a conversation matters: a person introduces themselves, states the company's name, and offers to discuss products. Jokes exaggerate the persistence of such an acquaintance, as if the seller could find a potential conversation partner anywhere. The brand name became part of a short comic script that people recognized even without an image of a catalog or cosmetic product.
In early 2018, pictures with such an introduction spread on VKontakte. Sometimes a name was added; sometimes only the greeting and the company's name remained. The phrase was combined with characters who suddenly appeared in doorways, windows, or next to another hero. Later it could signify an uninvited guest in general, not a literal consultant. The original author of the format has not been identified. The history of the specific edit with Nicholson and the cat has also not been traced to its original post: it cannot be dated merely by the timing of the general wave.
Horror gets a feline interlocutor
The left part of the montage is occupied by Jack Nicholson's face in the breach of a white door. This is a recognizable scene from Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, a 1980 film based on Stephen King's novel. Nicholson plays Jack Torrance; the image of a man breaking through a barrier retains its disturbing force even without the rest of the film's events. On the right, a striped cat with an open mouth has been added. It is near the door and looks toward the unexpected appearance. At the bottom, a greeting from an Oriflame representative is written in large letters.
The cat was not present in this scene of The Shining: the two images are combined for the sake of a new conversation. In the film, the broken door is linked to a threat, while in the edit it becomes an almost unbelievable way to reach a customer. The animal's reaction gives the viewer a second role: that of someone who clearly did not plan such an acquaintance. From the photo one cannot learn the cat's name, the author of its picture, or the circumstances of the original shoot; for the joke itself, a glance and an open mouth are enough.
Politeness that ignores obstacles
The main mechanism is the collision of a calm speech formula with an excessive way of delivering it. The introduction sounds as if the conversation begins by all the rules, although the door is already broken and the interlocutor is stunned. The hero seems not to notice how far his arrival falls short of business courtesy. Therefore the caption changes the meaning of a recognizable frame: a frightening intrusion acquires a mundane purpose, while a mundane purpose suddenly takes on horror-scale proportions.
In other variants, a small surprise is enough: a face in a window, a person who stepped out of a closet, a character from the ventilation shaft. The less suitable the place seems for starting a conversation, the more pronounced the absurdity. At the same time, the meme has an internal distribution of roles. The character who appeared is sure his greeting is appropriate; the second character and the viewer understand the opposite. Even a brief caption creates an entire scene, because a familiar introduction promises a continuation that no one ordered.
Two impossible acquaintances
In an invented variant, a researcher lowers a camera to the seabed and sees a smiling person with the same caption in a porthole. What amuses is not the product itself but the fantastic availability of the seller: even the depths of the ocean do not prevent the start of a familiar conversation. A second invented scene could be set in a fantasy game. A hero opens an ancient chest, and instead of treasure, a character with a catalog and a polite introduction rises from it.
Both examples continue one specific feature of the original montage: the uninvited visitor reaches the place where he is least expected. In the second case, one can add the treasure hunter's reaction to preserve the pair of roles that Nicholson and the cat form here. The more confidently the new acquaintance behaves amid incredible circumstances, the more strongly the perfectly ordinary greeting sounds.
