Iconic movie scene brand parody from @vancouverpubliclibrary

A group of people in a corporate setting parody the famous business card scene from 'American Psycho,' intensely comparing the design features of different Vancouver Public Library cards. Each person reveals a progressively more impressive or vintage card, culminating in the main character's envy and despair over the ultimate 'Paul Allen' card.

Creator: @vancouverpubliclibrary on Instagram

Video format

Skit

Video outline

  1. Present impressive item
  2. Rival presents superior item
  3. Reveal ultimate, legendary item
  4. Protagonist is defeated

Hook overview

A character presents a new item with the direct prompt, 'What do you think?', immediately establishing a scenario of judgment and comparison.

Verbal hook

New card. What do you think?

Visual hook

A character in a business suit seriously presents a library card in a corporate setting, followed by an immediate close-up on the card itself. The juxtaposition of the serious tone and the everyday object creates immediate intrigue.

Hook strategies

  1. curiosity-open-loops
  2. relatability-contrast

Payoff

The legendary item is revealed, and its subtle, 'perfect' qualities (e.g., 'tasteful thickness,' 'subtle off-white coloring') cause the protagonist to have a visible, silent breakdown, signifying their complete and utter defeat.

Narrative framework

The Connoisseur's Gauntlet

Narrative framework logic

A character presents a prized item for validation, only to be systematically outdone by rivals in a high-stakes game of escalating one-upmanship, leading to a psychological breakdown. The humor and tension derive from treating a mundane object with absurdly high reverence.

Narrative framework breakdown

  • frameworkName: The Connoisseur's Gauntlet
  • frameworkType: Standard Narrative
  • coreLogic: A character presents a prized item for validation, only to be systematically outdone by rivals in a high-stakes game of escalating one-upmanship, leading to a psychological breakdown. The humor and tension derive from treating a mundane object with absurdly high reverence.
  • confidence: 95
  • pendingStatus: created

Topics: Brand Marketing, Pop Culture, Local Culture, Design

Concepts: Satirical Product Pitch, Skit, Evolution Showcase

Formats: Skit

Elements: Jump Cut, Reaction Shot

Account types: Brand

Transcript excerpt

New card. What do you think? Woohoo. Very nice. Look at that. Picked them up from the printers yesterday. Good coloring. That's bone. And the lettering is something called cillian braille. It's very cool, Bateman, but that's nothing. Look at this. That is really nice. Eggshell with Romalian type. What do you think? Nice. That is really super. How no nitwit like you get so tasteful? I can't believe that Bryce prefers Van Patten's card to mine. Better wait. You ain't seen nothing yet. Raised better, pale nimbus, white. Impressive. Very nice. Let's see Paul Allen's card. Look at that subtle off white coloring, a tasteful thickness of it.

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