Chapter Seventy-Three: The Price

  34 shots, 34 moments.

  No switching of lights? No, no switching of shots either. Exquisite acting skills? No, large investment of funds? Even less.

  But after watching this two-minute advertisement, Cun Guang's eyes were already red!

  What is the soul of an advertisement? Creativity! What is the most important thing in advertising? The most important, of course, is to let the audience remember you after watching it! Remembering the ad is equivalent to remembering the manufacturer who made the ad!

  It's precisely because of this reason that some companies create advertisements that seem silly at first glance, but actually grasp the audience's inner thoughts.

  Due to the advanced TV entertainment, Japan has actually long eliminated ads like Huangyuanxiang Brain Platinum on Chinese TV stations. However, this thing is actually the same whether in China or Japan. Although Japan can't make those short, fast and direct ads that force their products into your brain and annoy you to death but still can't be forgotten. But they are not much different from China, just like "laughing at others for taking 50 steps while forgetting one's own 100 steps". Many Japanese companies have turned to using some weird tactics to attract audiences.

  The best example for later generations is that strange and happy, extremely brainwashing book that satisfied you.

  Although such advertisements are also heretical, whether orthodox or heretical, as long as they can be remembered and sell more products, it is the way of businessmen. If there is no orthodox way, businessmen will not mind taking a heretical path.

  What is the right way for advertising?

  That's a great ad, of course. The essence of creativity, the correct three views, the beautiful lens application, touching plot or situation, limited by time relationship, advertising may have all of the above, but actually one of them is enough to be called an advertisement, two, that is a good advertisement, as for satisfying three or even four at the same time, it can be absolutely called a masterpiece!

  Zhou Xiao's ad, in terms of creativity, actually performed very well. Using ads to reflect a certain period of time in one's life is not a novel idea, but the true creativity of this ad does not lie there. The real creativity of Zhou Xiao's ad lies in his use of lighting to create a warm and cozy silhouette environment, which perfectly captures the product and makes it stand out. If Zhou Xiao had not used silhouettes or made the scene more complicated, perhaps very few people would have noticed the lighting. This is where the true essence of this ad's creativity lies!

  As for the so-called three views being correct, advertisements don't need to reflect any of that. The three views here are just a metaphor, referring to a good advertisement that must reflect something inspiring and uplifting, or at least evoke some happy emotions; otherwise, if you turn a simple ad into a tragedy, aren't you just playing with the audience?

  Beautiful shots, of course, are not just about taking pictures. This point is actually about the overall visual sense, and it's not about how good-looking the picture is. Good advertising needs the most suitable picture. In this regard, Zhou Xiao has taken the four characters "yang chang bi duan" to the extreme.

  In the end, it's all about the plot. An ad isn't a TV series or a movie, and it doesn't need some kind of dramatic twist or divine plotline. You don't even need to tell a complete story - just one or two lines of dialogue and a scene that conveys the theme is enough. Ten years ago, a single guy who ate instant noodles alone now has a gentle and lovely wife, a warm home, and three adorable kids. This kind of storyline seems simple but actually perfectly fits the theme and is already rich enough. The few people and props in the silhouette convey a very delicate yet warm plot that can move every person watching TV!

  No need for Village Chief to look at the remaining items anymore. He was very clear that this time's one million yuan reward would definitely go to Zhou Xiao!

  "But before that, there's something else to do." Murahiro picked up the phone on his desk, and his target was naturally Kitanaka, who claimed to have seen all the ads!

  "Bei Shan, come here for a moment." The internal phone call from Village Guang hung up in Bei Shan's office.

  A few minutes later, Bei Shan walked into Village Chief Guang's office.

  "Have you read all of these?" Village Hiroshi asked casually while organizing files.

  "Yes." Beitou replied readily.

  "Are you sure there's nothing worth watching on TV?" Village Broadcast asked again.

  "Yes, I've seen them all. There's really nothing." Bei Shan replied, looking at the neatly arranged tapes in front of the player. He thought that Village Guang hadn't watched any of them.

  "Let's take a look together then." Village Guang walked out from behind his desk and pulled Bei Shan along.

  "Hmm..." Beishan could say nothing more and had no choice but to sit down obediently with his superior to watch.

  Cun Guang didn't find any extra tapes and directly inserted Zhou Xiao's advertisement into the player.

  Then, an eighteen-year-old boy known throughout Japan appeared in front of the camera.

  And Beishan, sweat immediately came down from his back!

  "It's Zhou Xiao! Oh my god!" Beishan can be certain that among all the videos he watched before, there was no sign of Zhou Xiao! If there were, no matter how Zhou Xiao's video turned out, Beishan would definitely mention it to Cun Guang!

  "Oh, so that's it. I just forgot to tell you, he actually submitted a draft, but... You also know, he's just a new singer... As for shooting commercials and all that..." Bei Shan reacted quickly, waving his hand as he spoke.

  "How was the slap? Was it?" Village Guang's face sank like water, but he didn't get angry, still sitting steadily there watching the advertisement start again on TV.

  Bei Shan also saw the advertisement with him.

  One shot, two shots, Beishan stared at the constantly switching shots on TV, his mouth slightly open, and his brain was a bit short-circuited.

  Ten shots, eleven shots...

  "This... this advertisement... was shot by Zhou Xiao!?" The first reaction of Beishan, who had slightly recovered, was one of complete disbelief. He didn't believe that Zhou Xiao could shoot such an advertisement!

  But can this thing... be changed just by not believing it?

  The advertisements on TV are still playing, thirty shots, thirty-one shots.

  Bei Shan's hands and feet had already turned cold, he realized one thing, that Zhou Xiao's advertisement was really good, so good that his previous sentence just proved that he hadn't seen the ad at all.

  It's all over... I'm done for!

  As Zhou Xiao's lines sounded, Zhou Xiao's advertisement was also nearing its end. Cun Guanglong let out a sigh and said: "Even if I've already seen this ad for the second time, I still feel deeply moved. Such an ad...if it doesn't count as a good ad, then what does? But...but...such a good ad that could bring in hundreds of millions of yuan in economic benefits to the company was almost ruined by you! If such a thing really happened and was exposed in the future, I think not only you but also me would be implicated. Beishan...you're so foolish."

  "Mr. Cun Guang! I was wrong! Please give me a chance!" Beishan had no way to refute, he could only bow his head and apologize.

  "I actually gave you the chance, from the moment you came in, I was waiting for you to apologize and admit your mistake, but you didn't, until you saw the coffin, you finally remembered to shed tears, don't you think this timing... is too late?"

  "It's... I know! But... Please, no matter what...!" Bei Shan bowed deeply and said with a heavy heart: "I still have a wife, I still have children! Mr. Cun Guang!"

  "Wife? Children? If you weren't in this position, you wouldn't need to take on this responsibility. But since you are in this position and drawing a high-level manager's salary, do you think you can just not be responsible? Is there such a good deal for you anywhere under the sun?"

  "Mr. Cun Guang!"

  "...we have a factory in Malaysia that is short of one person, you can go there first! Bring your wife and children too, so you won't be lonely!" As the deputy general manager of the company, Cun Guang naturally has the power to assign personnel, let alone his reason for assigning is very reasonable. You did something wrong, you have to take responsibility."

  "Zhou Xiao... is truly a genius, this advertisement will probably cause a sensation throughout Japan again." Watching Beishan walk out of the office in a daze, Murahiro's mind was already thinking about how to make Zhou Xiao's submission big and promote it.