HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 97 [097] Will Qi Yuan Become a Pepsi Superstar?
After filming the music video for "Dong Feng Po", Chen Kaige was still somewhat unsatisfied.

They clearly agreed to use their full strength, but ended up only using 10% before it was over.

After reviewing his thoughts, he attributed the problem to the music video being too short, preventing him from implementing his brilliant ideas.

“The music video is only a few minutes long, so I don’t have much room to improvise. Ah Yuan, you must come to my next movie. I will personally control the direction of the script and write a wonderful story.” Chen Kaige said with a hint of regret.

"Definitely, definitely," Qi Yuan replied casually.

He wanted to say that the MV's length was just right, with no dialogue and not much of a plot.

If the length were to stretch to an hour and allow Chen Kaige to fully unleash his potential, then it would be basically over.

When screenwriting veteran Lu Wei was writing the script for "Farewell My Concubine," he explicitly told Chen Kaige: "I'll write the script; you're not the screenwriter. Don't touch a single word. I'll write it."

This is the only film directed by Chen Kaige that was shot entirely according to the script, word for word, and the results speak for themselves.

Later, some people on the internet who criticized Chen Kaige said that "Farewell My Concubine" was not directed by Chen Kaige.

That's a bit ridiculous. Farewell My Concubine is clearly in Chen Kaige's style.

It is true that Chen Huaikai found the best production team in mainland China at the time for Chen Kaige.

After filming the music video, Qi Yuan had another meal with Chen Kaige and his wife, and then everyone parted ways.

"Ah Yuan, you've really hit the jackpot this time. Director Chen is directing for you, and Chen Hong is the female lead in your music video. I dare say you won't find another person in the music industry who gets the treatment you've received," Zhang Hao said admiringly.

He was truly impressed by Qi Yuan for managing to persuade Chen Kaige to become a director for free.

On the surface, Qi Yuan gained a huge advantage.

In fact, Chen Kaige could gain a lot by helping Qi Yuan shoot a music video.

On October 8th of this year, "Jing Ke" was released, and the abilities of Chen Kaige, the top director in mainland China, began to be questioned.

The claim that "Farewell My Concubine" was not his work also emerged around this time.

Initially, "Jing Ke" received really bad reviews. Douban is a website founded in 2005, and in 2005, the film's review section was full of criticism.

It wasn't until a year or two later that its reputation gradually improved, rising from four or five points to over eight points.

With the release of Qi Yuan's second album, the music videos for "Dong Feng Po" and "Jiang Nan" demonstrate Chen Kaige's profound directing skills and serve as a testament to his reputation.

It's unfair to say that Qi Yuan benefited alone; his cooperation with Chen Kaige was mutually beneficial, and both sides got the rewards.

The music video shooting in mainland China is now complete, with only a few days left until July.

Qi Yuan decided to stay in mainland China for a while to rest.

After his second album is released, he'll have to run around doing all sorts of promotions, and at the end of the year he'll be having his first concert ever, so he'll be running himself ragged.

Just as Qi Yuangang said he wouldn't be returning to Taiwan for the time being, Zhang Hao chimed in, "That's what I was thinking too. Last time I went back to the mainland, I told you that many manufacturers wanted to follow Wahaha's example and have you as their spokesperson, and you asked me to screen out reliable manufacturers."

I've actually found a shampoo manufacturer with a good reputation. It's a small factory that was established this year, and its name is Lafang.

Despite being a relatively new company, their user reviews are quite positive. They're offering you 250 million yuan a year to be their spokesperson.

Mainland shampoo manufacturers have tasted the sweetness of celebrity endorsements.

Last year, Shulei shampoo hired Richie Jen as its spokesperson.

This advertisement was even broadcast on CCTV-1. In the ad, Xiao Qi touches the female lead's hair, puts one arm around her, holds a bottle of shampoo in the other, and says to the camera: "I love Shulei without any regrets..."

Ren Xianqi's endorsement boosted Shulei shampoo sales several times over. That's why Lafang, a company founded at the beginning of this year, set its sights on Qi Yuan, planning to invest heavily in him.

They only allowed Qi Yuan to be their spokesperson for one year because they didn't have enough funds.

This is actually exactly what Qi Yuan wanted; his value will rise again after his second album is released.

At this point, accepting a long-term endorsement of two or three years would be a bad deal; a short-term endorsement of one year would be much better.

A year later, we'll see if Lafang is willing to raise prices and renew the contract. If not, a new shampoo manufacturer can approach him, and he can simply switch to a different supplier.

Pepsi also wants you to be their spokesperson. Pepsi has previously approached Zhang Guorong, Andy Lau, and Aaron Kwok as spokespeople.

They want to find you, and I heard they also want to find the princess. If it works out, the princess will become Pepsi's first female singer spokesperson in Asia.

My advice is not to rush into such a big endorsement. Wait until your second album is released before making a decision.

Zhang Hao analyzed the situation calmly.

Since entering the Chinese market, Pepsi has consistently pursued a superstar strategy, employing the most popular and beloved celebrities among young people as brand ambassadors.

As it turns out, Pepsi's strategy was very successful.

1997年，百事可乐在华国的市场份额为10.9%，1998年上升至21.3%，1999年升至28.5%，2000年升至巅峰的30%。

After 2000, Pepsi's market share declined.

Because Coca-Cola realized how effective the celebrity endorsement strategy was, they wanted to follow suit and hired Nicholas Tse as their spokesperson, which also attracted a large number of young consumers.

"Let's start by getting the endorsement deal for Lafang shampoo," Qi Yuan suggested.

It's just shooting a shampoo commercial; it won't take many days.

"By the way, Lafang specifically requested 'Because of Love, So I Love' as their promotional song. It's a very popular song in mainland China," Zhang Hao added.

……

Beijing, CCTV.

A high-ranking official from the station who had a good personal relationship with Zhang Jizhong had a special talk with him.

"Old Zhang, Teacher Jin Yong said that young man Qi Yuan is the perfect candidate for Linghu Chong, and many leaders in the station also think he is good."

Ren Xianqi became incredibly popular in mainland China last year, and his rise to fame was included in the list of the top ten most influential events in China in 97.

Qi Yuan is the only artist from mainland China who can rival Richie Jen from Taiwan and the Four Heavenly Kings from Hong Kong.

The leaders' idea was this: to invite the best mainland artists to film "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" so that people in Hong Kong and Taiwan could see the talent of our mainland artists.

Let me give you a heads-up: if you can get Qi Yuan involved, I can help you apply to the station for an increase of ten million in investment. There's a 50-60% chance it will be approved.

"Thank you for the reminder, senior leader." Zhang Jizhong was somewhat shocked.

Qi Yuan is incredibly famous, extremely famous.

In Hong Kong, he casually asked Jin Yong if Qi Yuan was a good fit, intending to ride on Qi Yuan's fame and generate buzz so that everyone would know that he, Zhang Da Hu Zi, had acquired the television rights to "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" and that he would soon be filming a mainland version of "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer." He did indeed achieve his goal.

Unexpectedly, the news reached CCTV and even attracted the attention of the station's leaders.

It seems that it's time to put contacting Qi Yuan on the agenda.

(End of this chapter)