Rebirth 2010: I taught Mr. Lei how to make a mobile phone

Chapter 843 Little Dragon Finally Makes His Move, Alipay Loses Billions

These advertisements not only used the same cast and dialogue style as previous Huabei advertisements, but also deliberately omitted the "Huabei" brand name, creating a dramatic reversal through visual storytelling.

What's particularly ingenious is that the new advertisement was posted next to the original Alipay advertisement, creating a complementary and complete narrative loop.

This contrast marketing strategy successfully reinforced the audience's brand awareness of Alipay's "Huabei" and WeChat's "Weidai".

Subsequently, opinions about Alipay's Huabei began to diverge across various online platforms, with netizens splitting into two camps and engaging in heated online arguments.
36Kr, a pioneering technology media outlet, published an in-depth commentary titled "Don't Let 'Moubei' Blind You":

There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

If there is!
That's just your imagination.

"Moubei" is such a pie in the sky: they deliberately avoid mentioning "small loans" and turn "debt" and "loan" into a casual "Huabei" to make you feel like you are very rich and there is nothing you can't afford.

Things you wouldn't have dared to buy before, you suddenly dare to buy—beautiful clothes, stylish bags, the latest digital gadgets.
And then what? If you overspend even once, congratulations, you'll be trapped in a vicious cycle of 'repayment-borrowing':

As soon as my living expenses or salary arrive, I have to repay these small loans immediately.
After paying off the small loan, what do you do if you don't have enough money left to cover your daily expenses?
You will have to use up the small loan amount again.
Some might say that breaking this cycle is simple: just make more money.

too young too simple!
As income increases, spending power will also increase. If you previously bought Adidas and Nike, you might want to wear trendy brands like Givenchy and Chanel, thus entering a new cycle.
Once the Pandora's box called desire is opened, it can never be closed again.

Technology is advancing, but we must also be wary of the pitfalls it may contain.

Mobile payment has made us give up using paper money. When we swipe out hundreds of yuan through Alipay, we lose the feeling of taking out money one by one from our wallets, eliminating the pain of cash and simplifying consumption behavior into a digital game.

The emergence of small loans such as Alipay's Huabei has led us to have a misconception about our spending power, making us arrogantly believe that we can afford goods that far exceed our income level, creating a purchasing illusion that exceeds our actual ability to pay.
Organizations that profit from greed have packaged "overspending" with family, friendship, love, or even "pleasing oneself" and "living in the moment," brainwashing consumers by linking "a good life" with "overspending."

They are now maliciously inciting us, gradually exposing our greed in such an unintentional and deceptive way, which will then backfire on us.

So, how can the younger generation rationally establish their own credit system and consumption concepts?
This is a question that we should all think about!

The article triggered a public outcry and sparked heated discussions among netizens.
"This advertisement, which at first glance seems to be full of warmth, actually uses family affection to induce advance consumption. Its values ​​are extremely distorted, which is really too much."

"The message behind this advertisement is: you can only buy warmth and dignity by consuming in advance, and only such a family is a qualified family."

"Honestly, is it necessary for an advertisement to be like this?"
What would happen if a father who is really short of money saw this?
Borrowing money can expose you to financial loopholes in your life that you should have avoided.

If I don't lend the money, the advertisement's comparison (implied) makes me feel like I'm not a good father, and I'm burdened with inexplicable moral pressure.

"The problem isn't that the father will see the ad and want to borrow the money, but that the daughter will also see the ad and find that her father didn't borrow it."

"Families in dire straits should not watch this advertisement. Otherwise, the father will feel guilty, the daughter will feel heartbroken, and the wife will think her husband is incompetent and useless, leading to arguments and even divorce."

"Capitalists only care about the money in everyone's pockets. As for how everyone will live in the future, who cares?"

"This is a consumer trap constructed by contemporary capitalism, creating a false sense of equality and misleading people into believing that the class divide can be eliminated in this way. Little do they know that this illusion is like the Emperor's New Clothes; the gap will only widen in the end."

"Oh dear, can't you even understand something this simple? Alibaba is a foreign company, so just blame everything on the American side!"

"My personal abilities are limited; all I can do is refuse to use Alipay!"

Ant Financial's Hangzhou headquarters.

Peng Lei stared at the article "Don't Let 'Moubei' Blind You" that was going viral online, and the ignorant netizens in the comments section, her knuckles turning white from gripping the mouse so tightly.

This article is like a sharp scalpel, peeling back the layers of Huabei's carefully packaged "emotional marketing" to expose its true nature of "inducing debt."

What angered her even more was the overwhelming condemnation in the comments section. Those users who were once moved by their ads were now turning their guns on Alipay.

It seems that what's more ruthless than capital is the fickle attitude of the vast majority of users!

After the public outcry, various "Ant Credit Pay cancellation" guides appeared online, with pictures and text showing users how to cancel the service step by step.

This alerted her; it seemed this wasn't a spontaneous user action, but rather something powerful was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

"According to the data department, the number of users who have closed their Huabei accounts for as high as 10%. After all this, it is initially estimated that we will be 10 billion yuan short of the target this month." The assistant's voice trembled slightly as he reported.

A 10% user loss rate and billions in losses, all within just three days of public discourse, suggest that if no immediate action is taken, this number will continue to rise.

The more money you lend out, the more money you get back. In Peng Lei's eyes, not making a profit is a loss, which is unacceptable!
It's important to understand that large companies like Alibaba have long established a comprehensive and rigorous set of processes and systems.

Whether it's choosing a spokesperson or launching an advertisement, it all has to go through layers of approval—the final approval level is determined by the amount of money involved and the amount of resources consumed.

The Huabei advertisement, as a key project covering the entire country, with promotional expenses in the hundreds of millions, was launched only after Peng Lei made the final decision.

During the approval process, she even felt that these advertisements were ingeniously conceived and would surely resonate with the public. After all, "living in the moment and embracing a beautiful life" is a reflection of her current life, and most of the people around her are the same, so she didn't feel there was anything wrong with it.

But now, looking at the continuously declining data, Peng Lei can't help but reflect: Why don't these users understand their good intentions?

After all, the sweetness comes first, and the bitterness comes lasting forever!

Things like being diligent and thrifty, saving every penny, are passed down from generation to generation, endlessly.

Enraged, Peng Lei slammed her hand on the table, her voice a low, suppressed growl: "It must be Chen Mo who's behind this! Call an emergency meeting with all the people in charge of Huabei right now!"

"Yes!"

The reason why Huabei launched such a massive advertising campaign to promote its services is because this was during the critical period of Ant Financial's pre-IPO.

With annual lending of hundreds of billions of yuan, Huabei serves as a profit growth engine and will directly impact its valuation upon subsequent IPO.

Her anger was not solely due to the loss of control over public opinion—her opponent's timing was far too cunning, and she absolutely could not allow the brand image to collapse at this moment.

Moreover, her pride wouldn't allow her to fail.

Early in Alibaba's founding, Peng Lei and her husband Sun Tongyu became Jack Ma's right-hand women.

She was in charge of personnel, while Sun Tongyu spent three years building the world-renowned Taobao.

Perhaps it was because his "merits overshadowed the master" that he aroused the old man's suspicion. Sun Tongyu was eventually sidelined and left Alibaba, while Peng Lei was given important responsibilities and rose to her current high position.

Just as Jiang Fan is referred to as the "Young Marshal" in the industry, Peng Lei, as the chairman of Ant Financial, is known in the industry as the "female version of Jack Ma" and "the woman behind Alibaba," and is highly valued by Jack Ma.

This is not only because of their similar appearance and temperament, but also because as one of the founding eighteen arhats, she has been by Lao Ma's side for more than ten years. Under the influence of what she has seen and heard, their concepts and goals have long been highly consistent. Over time, even their temperaments have become more and more similar.

A deeper concern stems from Alipay's attempt to break into the social sphere last year.

The "Life Circle" app initially developed smoothly, but by the end of the year, a large amount of vulgar and indecent content appeared in "Campus Diary" and "White-Collar Diary," which eventually triggered public criticism and even drew criticism from higher authorities.

As the chairman and CEO of Ant Financial, she had to issue an internal "decree of self-reproach" and ultimately resign from her CEO position to save the big picture and let the small ones go.

She had always suspected that an adversary was behind the incident, but she lacked evidence.

If WeChat's blatant crackdown on "Huabei" fails again, its development within Alibaba will certainly be limited.

This battle is not only a battle to defend Huabei's market share, but also a battle for Peng Lei's power within Alibaba.

At the meeting, Peng Lei reiterated in a cold tone: "Our advertisements encourage rational consumption! This is a malicious misinterpretation by the other side!"

She immediately requested the Ministry of Justice to file lawsuits against the other side for "commercial defamation" and "unfair competition".

Subsequently, she ordered the removal of all "Better Life" series advertisements from the market and replaced them with "Rational Lending" promotions, emphasizing "controllable credit limits" and "repayment reminders".

She also instructed the marketing department to publish articles through partner media outlets, implying that "some companies are using criticism of Alipay to pave the way for their own financial businesses."

"Finally, launch the 'Special Credit Line for College Students' and '618 Interest-Free Carnival' activities that we discussed earlier, and release them immediately!"

"Mr. Peng, this will affect the bad debt rate and its impact," an executive couldn't help but worry.

The decline in user numbers can only be offset by increasing lending amounts. As long as financing can be secured, these issues are not problems.

Peng Lei didn't bother to explain, and simply gave the other person a cold glance: "Execute the order!"

"Yes!"

Peng Lei is known for her tough and decisive nature; she never asks, "Does anyone have any questions?" in her meetings.

Her will was absolute, and even if something was wrong, it had to be strictly enforced.

"The meeting is dismissed!"

At the headquarters of the Bi'an Group, thousands of miles away, another meeting is underway.

Zhang Xiaolong's gaze swept over the dozen or so department heads present, delivering his final pre-battle pep talk in a steady and powerful voice:
"I just received a notification from General Manager Chen Tong that the auspicious time has arrived!"
"Everyone, please. I will now proceed with the following instructions."

(End of this chapter)