This director is vindictive.

Chapter 366 Raising a Heartbroken Person Amidst Laughter

In fact, this was also an experiment by Chen Mo.

Who told him to be so rich and capricious?

Other film promotions and marketing efforts all rely on repeatedly seeking sensational moments.

They were afraid that the publicity would be insufficient and the exposure would be inadequate.

But Chen Mo had no such concerns at all; of course, others couldn't learn it even if they wanted to.

At the same time, it is also because "The Heartbroken" is a tragic film.

Despite everyone saying how moved they were after reading the novel, in reality, these days, people go to the movies primarily for relaxation and entertainment.

If we look at "The Heartbroken" directly from the perspective of the film itself, it is indeed a tragic drama.

For many viewers who dislike "masochism," this is really not so friendly.

Therefore, Chen Mo's promotional strategy can be considered an unconventional approach, using a tragic film to generate a lighthearted buzz.

Despite the film's heavy themes, the promotional materials avoided any mention of tragedy, focusing instead on the silly, everyday moments on set.

Scenes like Yang Mi taking off her shoes to chase Chen Mo and Huang Bo and Hu Ge playfully teasing each other in the behind-the-scenes footage were actually intended to dispel the audience's resistance to the "heart-wrenching plot" and instead arouse curiosity: "Just how heart-wrenching a film can make the actors film it with such joy?"

The interactions between the main actors and behind-the-scenes footage are inherently funny, achieving viral spread without the need for traditional advertising.

Netizens commented: "This marketing is genius! I suggest Chen Mo teach a course called 'How to Conquer Trending Topics with Snot'."

The saying that successful people will always succeed is not just empty talk.

Because Chen Mo has his own aura, even if he poops, people will probably say it smells good!
For example, this wave of behind-the-scenes promotion has made those peers who saw the explosive promotional effect say that this promotion is a low-cost, high-return case of breaking into the circle!

There are even bloggers who have specifically analyzed why the "self-deprecating behind-the-scenes promotion" of "The Heartbroken" was successful.

"Chen Mo truly deserves to be called a master of publicity and marketing. This self-deprecating behind-the-scenes publicity looks simple, but in reality, it is a carefully planned marketing case!"

First, this novel approach can be said to have accurately resonated with young audiences: the down-to-earth and humorous content conforms to the logic of online dissemination, and the genuine reactions of the lead actors who "don't care about their idol image" enhance their approachability.

Secondly, contrast marketing creates memorable moments: using lighthearted clips to offset the expectation of tragedy lowers the audience's psychological defenses and attracts more people to the cinema to see "just how heart-wrenching it is".

Secondly, the popularity of the lead actors is maximized: the national recognition of Huang Bo, Hu Ge, Yang Mi and others gives the silly content its own potential for spread, forming a closed loop of "netizens playing with memes → lead actors interacting → secondary dissemination".

Finally, this strategy of "turning a film set disaster into a publicity treasure" is one of the most successful anti-routine marketing cases in recent years.

Chen Mo was scratching his head when he saw this blog post. He finally understood how Han Han felt when he answered the reading comprehension questions on his own essay wrong.

However, what happened next was completely unexpected by Chen Mo, the instigator.

The "snot marketing" and "behind-the-scenes marketing" of "The Heartbroken" continue to gain momentum, igniting netizens' enthusiasm for fan creations. A hashtag, #IfTheHeartbrokenCharactersHaveADologue#, suddenly popped up on Weibo and instantly climbed to the top three trending topics.

Talented netizens photoshopped all the tragic characters in the movie into silly, humorous images.

He Xi (played by Hu Ge) posted on her WeChat Moments late at night: "My snot was stringy when I kissed a handkerchief today, just like my research grant application form (with a close-up of gel snot)."

Li Qing (played by Zhang Jiayi) commented underground: "If your original application topic had been 'The Most Persistent Grief Secretions,' perhaps 'Micro-Continuity Theory' wouldn't have been ignored!"

Chen Mo was drinking coffee when he saw this trending topic and almost spat it out of his monitor. He immediately sent the link to the crew group chat: "Everyone, your personas have collapsed."

Huang Bo immediately replied with an emoji: a Border Collie carrying a "Golden Horse Award trophy" with the caption "A trophy is not as fragrant as snot."

Hu Ge sent a selfie video—he was gagging at a bowl of bird's nest soup, and the caption popped up: "Ever since I acted in 'The Heartbroken,' all gelatinous foods are automatically censored."

Afterwards, the official Weibo account of "The Heartbroken" updated with another behind-the-scenes video.

The video shows Hu Ge failing to kiss the gel handkerchief twenty times in a row, finally collapsing in a chair and wailing, "Director Chen, this thing is a hundred times harder to film than a kissing scene!"

Off-screen, Yang Mi's voiceover says, "Be content, I didn't even get a scene with the gel!"

(P.S.: There were actually no NGs! It was just for promotional purposes and to create a meme!)
The results proved to be truly amazing.

After this new behind-the-scenes footage was released, #HuGeKissingScenesWaterloo# immediately became a new hot topic.

A film blogger dug up behind-the-scenes footage of his kissing scene in the early film "Chinese Paladin" for comparison: "Ten years ago, he kissed a fairy; ten years later, he kissed a snotty nose. Is this the path to becoming a movie star?"

Amidst the clamor of publicity, the premiere date of "The Heartbroken" drew ever closer.

The premiere of "Heartbroken" has finally arrived.

For media professionals, Chen Mo's premiere was an absolute media feast.

It's safe to say that as soon as Chen Mo's movie premieres, the headlines for the next day are practically guaranteed.

According to netizens, Chen Mo's movie premiere was almost like an annual awards ceremony.

To the surprise of many film critics, they suddenly realized that their impression of the film was actually quite shallow.

Or rather, they know about the movie; after all, its recent promotional trailers and behind-the-scenes clips have frequently dominated trending topics, resulting in a surge in its exposure. However, the problem is that even the movie's trailers are essentially promotional clips and behind-the-scenes footage, meaning they don't even know how Chen Mo adapted the film.

The premiere scene.

Chen Mo's true fans of ten years, film critics Zhou Xiaobin, Bai Yue, and Dou Qing, reunited once again.

Looking at the joyful atmosphere at the premiere, the three of them exchanged bewildered glances.

There's no other reason than that everyone knows what kind of novel "The Heartbroken" is.

But the result?
However, whether it was the publicity or the premiere, there was almost no trace of a tragic atmosphere.

"Is this really a good idea?" Zhou Xiaobin couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.

"There's nothing wrong with it, otherwise how would we promote it? Don't be fooled by the many people who say a certain movie is very tear-jerking. In reality, things are different now. Look at the movies currently showing. How many truly tragic movies actually sell well?"

In online novels, even the slightest mistreatment of the protagonist will draw angry criticism from readers. It's fair to say that most young people today can't stand the slightest injustice!
Otherwise, why would there be talk of Gen Z reorganizing the workplace? Bai Yue thought the publicity was very effective.

"You can't say that, can you? No matter how much you promote it, it can't change the fact that this is a 'torture drama.' Do you think that just because the promotion is more lighthearted, it can cover up this fact?" Zhou Xiaobin said, looking at the media reporters who were frantically pressing the shutter button in the front row.

"Do you think Chen Mo's successful 'behind-the-scenes publicity' this time will lead to others imitating him?" Dou Qing's focus was somewhat different.

"Difficult, almost impossible to replicate!" Bai Yue shook his head.

"Don't be fooled by the fact that 'Heartbroken' seems to have a low budget. To put it bluntly, it's a low-budget soft science fiction film, but in reality, the cast of this movie is top-notch!"

Hu Ge, Huang Bo, Hu Jun, Yang Mi—aren't they all top-tier artists in the industry? Add Chen Mo as the director, and that's the confidence he has to do this. How else could he pull it off with other films?

The premiere was also "upbeat," with frequent bursts of laughter from the cast and crew on stage due to their interactions and antics.

Those who don't know might think "The Heartbroken" is a comedy.

It can be said that Chen Mo has directly fallen into the trap of contrasting publicity.

At that moment, the audience seemed to have forgotten that "The Heartbroken" was a tragic novel.

Completely unaware of someone's sinister intentions—the happier you are now, the more you will cry in a moment.

The sober media professionals and film critics below were all somewhat amazed by Chen Mo's boldness.

Yes, contrasting publicity can be considered a very bold move, because it is definitely a double-edged sword.

This kind of contrasting publicity is bold and undeniably risky: if the film lacks tragic tension, the excessive entertainment-oriented publicity in the early stages may cause a psychological letdown among the audience; but if successful, it can enhance the viewing experience through emotional reversal.

So what will happen to "The Heartbroken"?

As the lights in the premiere theater dimmed, sporadic laughter still lingered in the audience—a few college students in the front row were mimicking Huang Bo's comical sneezing gesture, their phone screens flashing faintly in the darkness as they secretly took photos.

Finally, the movie started playing.

What first appears on the big screen is a depiction of everyday life in a future world.

Hu Jun, who plays He Hongwei, sits there watching the buildings rushing past outside the window.

The camera zooms out to reveal this future world, where magnetic levitation technology is widely used, and vehicles travel at low altitudes.

Autonomous driving, AI, video projection, and more are all showcased through He Hongwei's interactions with his family.

Many people were suddenly struck by this realization.

“Oh my god, do you guys still remember?” Zhou Xiaobin suddenly said.

"Remember what?" Bai Yue, who was engrossed in reading, looked at him with some confusion.

“Goodbye Mr. Loser!” Zhou Xiaobin said.

"Goodbye Mr. Loser? What's wrong?" Dou Qing interrupted in surprise.

"Have you noticed? It's as if Chen Mo has eyes that can see the future. All those things that appeared in 'Goodbye Mr. Loser,' like the style of mobile phones, various apps, and so on, have actually appeared without a single mistake." Zhou Xiaobin felt a chill run down his spine.

"Wow, it really is! I remember in 'Goodbye Mr. Loser' there was a scene where everyone was engrossed in watching short videos on their phones, and now Huawei has launched a foldable screen phone too." Bai Yue said in a daze.

"And then there's the delivery army."

"Could he be like the protagonist in a novel, someone who's been reborn?" Zhou Xiaobin couldn't help but complain.

"That's possible, otherwise how could it be so accurate?"

"Come on, the movie even said that 'Ne Zha 2' would break 10 billion yuan at the box office. Do you think that's possible?"

"Isn't 'Ne Zha 2' going to be released next year? We'll see when the time comes! Don't think it's outrageous; compared to Chen Mo, is there anything more outrageous?"

(End of this chapter)