Huayu: Starting with Marketing Bad Movies

Liu Chang was furious and stood up to leave.

He was truly enraged. If Xu Feng hadn't been 1.8 meters tall and too strong to fight back, he might have actually resorted to violence.

As a scholar, I still have a lot of pride; how could I possibly do such a disgusting and perverted thing?

"I'll give you one million."

"As long as you sign, you can pay a deposit of 300,000 yuan right now."

Xu Feng's words hit the nail on the head.

Liu Chang froze, feeling very conflicted.

One million! He's never earned that much money in all his years in the industry. Film critics may sound prestigious, but making money is really difficult.

He is somewhat famous, and film companies often pay him to write film reviews, but his work is inconsistent and he mainly makes a living through side jobs.

With a million yuan, plus the money I had saved before, I could finally buy the house I had my eye on and settle down in Beijing.

"Why do they have to make me drink foot bath water? This is not how movie marketing works."

Liu Chang turned around, muttering to himself.

Xu Feng felt much more at ease. The fact that he didn't leave immediately meant that the matter was more than half resolved. His current complaints were simply because he couldn't get over the hurdle in his mind.

After a few more words of persuasion, the matter is practically settled.

If they really can't reach an agreement, it doesn't really matter. The marketing plan needs a film critic, and Liu Chang is the most suitable one, but he's not indispensable. It would be the same if someone else were chosen.

"These days, the most important thing in propaganda is novelty. Dog bites man is not news, man bites dog is news."

"It's precisely because drinking foot bath water is novel and perverse enough that it can attract the audience's attention and get them to go to the cinema to watch the movie."

"This will also benefit you; you'll become famous along with it."

"Think about it carefully. This is a million dollars. How many film reviews would you have to write to earn that back? Now, if you cooperate with me, you can get a million dollars in just a few days. Where else can you find such a good deal?"

After much earnest persuasion, Liu Chang finally agreed and signed his name on the contract.

But I was still somewhat reluctant.

In 2011, the environment was still quite conservative, morality had not completely declined, and it was not yet the time when people laughed at poverty but not prostitution, as is the case in later generations.

It's hard to accept being asked to drink foot bath water, and I feel quite resistant to it.

Seeing this, Xu Feng offered another round of psychological counseling.

"We're doing this for art. Art is about breaking with convention, it's about not conforming to worldly norms, and it's difficult to understand."

"Believe me, this marketing campaign of mine is an absolute milestone in film history, and you'll benefit from it too."

"By then you'll be a famous film critic, and your fame will be enough to support you for a lifetime."

After a deposit of 300,000 yuan was transferred, along with some persuasive tactics, Liu Chang finally reluctantly nodded in agreement.

In any case, we absolutely cannot let Liu Chang feel that this is a shameful thing. We need to remove his sense of shame and make him feel that it is normal. After all, art is something that ordinary people cannot understand.

After all, this is the person who will carry out the plan, and they have to be convinced properly, otherwise it will be troublesome if problems arise at a crucial moment.

Xu Feng believed that, tempted by one million, Liu Chang would definitely be able to successfully complete his plan.

At this point, all the preliminary preparations for the marketing plan are complete, and the next step is to wait for implementation.

Xu Feng returned home.

Xiao Zhao comes from a rural area and is very efficient at his work.

What was originally a messy doghouse became neat, tidy, and warm under her tidying up, giving it the feel of a home.

This made Xu Feng sigh, "Having a girl is so great. What kind of life did I live before?"

Dinner was cooked by Xiao Zhao again. After eating, Xu Feng took the girl directly into the bedroom.

While Xu Feng and Zhao Liying were enjoying their peaceful life, Sun Honglei's criticism of the production team began to have an impact.

In an effort to deflect blame for the film's failure, Sun Honglei's agent went to great lengths.

Not only did they spend money to buy press releases, but they also used their personal connections to invite many media friends to help them, striving to maximize their influence in the shortest possible time.

He wanted everyone to know that the film's failure was all Jing Tian's and the director's fault, and that Sun Honglei was the victim.

If Sun Honglei had been given a normal performance, the film's quality would never have been this bad.

In the entertainment industry, the influence of A-list celebrities is still astonishing, especially now that the movie "The Warring States" is generating a lot of buzz.

Soon everyone learned that Sun Honglei had launched a scathing attack on the production team of the film "The Warring States," criticizing Jing Tian for his poor acting and, incidentally, the director for his reckless behavior.

Jing Tian suffered the most damage.

There's no way around it, this girl is the most famous and has the most screen time in the movies.

In contrast, Xu Feng was virtually unknown. He gained some fame through interviews and marketing before the film's release, but still remained largely unknown.

Unlike Jing Tian, ​​which is bright and conspicuous, such an obvious target would naturally be attacked relentlessly.

The discussion within the art community about how money can destroy art has sparked debate, with many saying that Jing Tiande is unworthy of his position.

Those viewers who were disgusted by bad movies were the most vocal in their criticism of Jing Tian.

As people echoed her opinions, Jing Tian's reputation plummeted. Although her reputation was already bad, it became even worse.

He's a "resource-backed" actor, a disgrace to actors, acts like a diva, got into Beijing Film Academy through connections, and maliciously bullies other actors in the crew.

A whole host of bad things were pinned on Jing Tian, ​​and all sorts of unfounded rumors spread everywhere, making Jing Tian look utterly vilified.

Jing Tian's mysterious background has been repeatedly mentioned, and many people are heartbroken, lamenting that the film and television industry has lost its purity and that money has tainted art.

The internet is filled with condemnation of Jing Tian.

Jing Tian was extremely angry upon seeing these comments.

Anyone would get angry if they were insulted.

Although most of the criticisms are true, such as her being a "resource-backed" actress, being the most powerful person on set, and having other stars revolve around her, etc.

But Jing Tian was still very angry.

If Xu Feng hadn't given prior notice, Jing Tian might have exploded.

Xu Feng, however, found it quite amusing.

The higher the popularity, the better. High popularity means more people are paying attention, which leads to better subsequent marketing results and a more rapid increase in box office revenue.

Taking advantage of Sun Honglei's criticism of "The Warring States", Xu Feng sent a message to Liu Chang, urging him to publish his film review as soon as possible.

That's right, not only was Sun Honglei's article criticizing the production team written by Xu Feng, but Liu Chang's film review was also penned by Xu Feng.

Many major events in the entertainment industry are manipulated by an invisible hand behind the scenes.

The reason why "Warring States" was bombarded this time was because of the invisible hand of Xu Feng.

[The Warring States is such a terrible movie; I'd rather drink Jing Tian's foot bath water than watch it.]

Upon receiving the message, Liu Chang released the film review he had prepared long ago.

If Sun Honglei's article criticizing the production team was somewhat reasonable and well-founded, then this article can be described as pure attack.

The entire article contains no evidence; it's all emotion.

That feeling of extreme anger.

The article thoroughly criticized the movie "The Warring States" and its cast from beginning to end.

The article went so far as to compare the movie "The Warring States" to foot bath water, full of garbage and filth.

In a fit of emotion, he even said that he would rather drink Jing Tian's foot bath water than watch the movie "The Warring States".

At least foot bath water is disgusting for a short time, but movies are disgusting for a lifetime.

Taking advantage of the recent popularity of "The Warring States" and Jing Tian, ​​and the fact that Liu Chang also has some fans.

The article quickly went viral.