Basketball miracles

Chapter 21 [Hungry? Grab a Snickers Bar!]

Xiao Tu received a call from his manager, Jerry West, at home, and the two talked about shooting the advertisement.

“Snickers? I’ve heard of it.” Xiao Tu immediately became interested.

"They think you're a perfect fit, and the price they offered isn't low. They even tailored the story for the ad just for you," West laughed. "Aren't you planning to find an agent? I think a lot of businesses will be asking you to shoot ads in the future. We can't possibly negotiate the prices for you, can we?"

Xiao Tu said seriously, "An agent did contact me, but I couldn't tell if it was good or bad, so I didn't want to sign. I want to shoot fewer commercials and focus on playing basketball."

"You're right to think that way. If you play well, the Lakers will sign you to a big contract, and I guarantee you'll be very rich in the future." What manager wouldn't like a player who puts their heart and soul into basketball?

Players can improve their skills more quickly when they are focused and undistracted.

Actually, Xiao Tu was unwilling to shoot more commercials because the money offered by the advertisers was too little.

These days, businesses mostly pay advertisers a one-time fee for shooting commercials; there's no such thing as a celebrity endorsement. The more famous a player is, the more money businesses pay them, but it's impossible to earn more than what they actually earn playing the game.

With the widespread use of television sets and the proliferation of television commercials, Xiao Tu has never heard of any celebrity making a fortune from shooting commercials. When companies spend money on advertising, the majority of the money goes to the television stations; that's where the real profits come from.

Xiao Tu doesn't sign with an agent because he's afraid of being taken advantage of. There's a living example right in front of him every day while he's with the Lakers.

After learning about the current state of NBA agents, he was greatly disappointed. Agents today are far from the professional figures of the future; they are still figuring out how to conduct business negotiations and are simply unable to help players secure significant financial benefits.

For example, Joe Smith, president of EMI Audio.

Smith is a loyal Lakers fan who is willing to become Magic Johnson's agent for free in exchange for the sporting aura shining on vinyl records and creating another legend.

He completed Magic Johnson's 25-year, $2500 million contract with the Lakers. In 1981, this was an astonishing figure. But in retrospect, that $100 million annual salary was practically robbery of Johnson by the Lakers.

If it weren't for Lakers owner Jerry Buss's compassion in agreeing to a clause allowing Johnson to determine his annual salary, Johnson would have been ruined by his agent.

Xiao Tu negotiated his rookie contract himself; it's a 2+1 contract with a total salary of $78.

West is very sincere; even though Xiao Tu hasn't played a single game, his annual salary is higher than that of the team's blue-collar worker, Rambis.

His contract is bigger than that of the 9th overall pick, Otis Thorpe, and far surpasses that of the 16th overall pick, Stockton, and is comparable to that of the Cavaliers' 6th overall pick, Elmer Tpin.

Xiao Tu knew exactly when the NBA would significantly increase salaries; his foresight was remarkable. He figured it was better to follow his own ideas than to hire an agent. As for earning money through other commercial activities… in today's non-internationalized NBA, what methods could an agent possibly use to get him to go out and make money?
What if his agent's advice is bad? Would he have to spend time persuading them? Just thinking about it gives him a headache, so he might as well not have an agent at all.

He felt that when signing a big contract with the Lakers, he should consult a lawyer to ensure there were no loopholes. He planned to sign a shorter term, aiming to renew his contract around the time of a major salary increase in the NBA.

Jordan's timing for signing long-term contracts was awkward. He spent a long time with the Bulls earning low salaries, only receiving high salaries for two seasons, the famous $3000 million annual salary.

Xiao Tu decided to take on the Snickers ad because the company's ads were all very interesting and would increase his exposure. Right now, he wasn't thinking about making money; he just wanted to boost his popularity.

Of course, he needed to understand the story behind the advertisement first.

He couldn't accept an ad where Willem Dafoe is dressed as Marilyn Monroe and his skirt flies up in the wind, revealing his underwear. That ad was just too outrageous; only a lunatic like the Green Goblin could make one.

The head of Snickers quickly called Xiao Tu and arranged to meet him at a coffee shop near his home that afternoon.

The man who arrived was a young man under 30 named Harry. He said he was a fan of Xiao Tu and not only suggested inviting him to shoot an advertisement, but also participated in the creation of the advertisement's story.

Xiao Tu asked, "Can you tell me about the story? As long as it doesn't affect my image, I'll take the role."

Harry laughed, "Of course! You're one of the main characters, and there's another girl in the film. You don't mind having a girl play you, do you? I promise the story will be very interesting."

"Is it pretty? If it is, then I don't mind." At this point, Xiao Tu had already guessed what the advertisement was about.

"We can choose a pretty one." Snickers is a high-calorie chocolate brand with a sweet and salty flavor, launched in the United States in 1930. Since the advent of television commercials, the company's ads have always taken a humorous approach—"Hungry? Grab a Snickers!"

That girl was definitely going to impersonate Xiao Tu, pretending to be starving, and then transform after eating a Snickers bar.

Harry dictated the advertisement story. Two teams were playing basketball when a girl inexplicably joined the game, making frequent mistakes and playing terrible defense. Then a teammate handed the girl a Snickers bar and recited the advertisement's lyrics. After eating it, the girl transformed into Xiao Tu, unleashing a series of powerful dunks and blocks, dominating the court.

There are several similar advertisements. Yao Ming also filmed a version, but it wasn't filmed with a girl.

“I really like this story. When will it be filmed?” Xiao Tu asked with a smile.

"After you come back from your next away game, the Lakers won't have any games for the next two days, so you'll definitely have a day off."

"Okay, contact me when the time comes." Xiao Tu was also keeping track of the time.

The Lakers' recent schedule has been alternating between home and away games. He still has some premium grapes left, so he has to eat them sparingly.

The people at Snickers have a long-term vision; they know that hiring Xiao Tu for an advertisement is the most cost-effective option right now. He's destined to become a star; he's already famous, but he hasn't been selected for the NBA Western Conference All-Star team yet, so his market value isn't too high.

In terms of cost-effectiveness, he's much better than NFL and MLB stars. It's also much more difficult to film commercials for football and baseball games; advertisers don't like them.

Xiao Tu was paid $20,000 for this advertisement, which he felt was not much but acceptable. Money was just a number to him now; it didn't hold much use, just enough to get by.

He'd been in this world for a while, but his mindset was stuck in the 80s. He had money but didn't know how to spend it; everything he wanted to buy was in the future.

Aside from his used car, his usual expenses mainly consist of food and drink. He considers high-end electronic products to be antiques and has no interest in them whatsoever.

After signing the agreement, Xiao Tu went home to rest. He didn't want to practice today; he wanted to be in top physical condition for the game. The Lakers' next opponent was the Denver Nuggets, a strong team overall but weak in the paint, perfect for him to rack up stats.

That evening, the Lakers flew to an away game, and Xiao Tu's teammates had already heard about the advertisement shoot.

Many teammates who had never filmed commercials before thought the advertising fee was very high, saying that he made money very easily.

Kurt Rambis was especially envious; this guy was incredibly stingy, $20,000 would have been enough for him to live on for years. When he stayed at hotels during away games, he would always take things from the hotel room, such as toilet paper, shampoo, and bottled water, always trying to get something for nothing.

Everyone has a different perspective. Xiao Tu believes he's greatly contributing to the Snickers brand by selling his image rights. His teammates, on the other hand, think the ad could be filmed in a day, and the money is too easy to make—it's like picking it up for free.

If Xiao Tu said, "This is using my own image to endorse the product," some people would probably be confused.

Huh? What image do I have?
This is no exaggeration. Xiao Tu found his teammates to be incredibly stupid; many of them were thinking with their lower bodies.

American education prioritizes the elite over the common people, leading to signs of social stratification as early as the 80s. The American Dream of upward mobility primarily occurred in the entertainment and sports industries, where celebrities don't need to be intellectually gifted.

In the NBA, many Black players from slums are practically illiterate; some can't even do basic first-grade arithmetic. Others speak incoherently, constantly talking about nightclubs and women; their level of education is limited to signing autographs.

Not only now, but 40 years from now, many NBA players will still look like this; they really don't have much of an image to speak of.

A former star athlete, retired for over a decade, came to China to do promotional activities and make money. He had a blank expression in front of fans the whole time, but he started laughing as soon as he entered a nightclub.

His die-hard fans, however, didn't care and were even happy, because they loved their idol's rebellious nature—it was his trademark.

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(End of this chapter)