"I'm in Tokyo, and this is some kind of movie star comeback system?!"

Chapter 129 Explosive Popularity

22: 15.

TBS Headquarters Sales Department, GG Division.

The night shift in the GG department usually doesn't require much work.

At night, we only monitor the broadcast to ensure that GG's content is broadcast according to the contract and that there are no technical incidents.

Tonight's duty roster consists of Kurata Koji, the deputy director of the GG department, and two young staff members.

In 1987, computers were not yet commonplace at every workstation in a television station.

Kurata was using a calculator to check the GG price for next month.

Just then, the phone rang.

Kurata didn't even look up, gesturing to the clerk next to him to take it.

The clerk answered the call, and then listened for a long time.

As I listened, his expression gradually changed from indifference to confusion, and finally to shock.

He covered the receiver with his hand and turned to Kurata: "Director, it's a call from Nissan's public relations department."

Kurata put down the calculator.

Nissan is a long-term customer, but the PR department rarely contacts them proactively in the evenings.

"What is it?"

The clerk swallowed hard: "They said that after Z31GG aired on our station's variety show tonight, their switchboard received over two thousand calls."

Kurata thought he had misheard: "Two thousand? Yen?"

"No," the clerk quickly shook his head to correct, "it's the phone. Two thousand calls were made to their customer service center, all inquiring about that car."

And it's said—it's said that many of the calls weren't about the car, but about the actor.

Kurata glanced at the clerk, frowned, and took the microphone: "Hello, this is Kurata from the TBS Television Sales Department."

On the other end of the phone was Fujii, the head of Nissan's publicity department.

His voice was hoarse, as if he was trying to maintain politeness but was clearly suppressing excitement: "Mr. Kurata, first of all, thank you for tonight's broadcast. I hope everything went well."

But I have one request—no, two.

"Please speak."

"First, we would like to purchase additional slots for the same time slot and location next week."

The price remains the same, and the same "GG" episode is being played repeatedly.

Kurata quickly did some mental calculations.

The price for the prime-time slot on a variety show is not low, but it's not exorbitant either.

Additional purchases are usually a good thing, indicating that the seller is satisfied with the results.

Just as he was about to express his welcome, Fujii made his second request.

"Secondly, if possible, we would like to change the broadcast location from C to A for the next episode."

It's the last GG spot before the show ends.

I'd accept a price doubling.

Kurata's hand froze in mid-air.

This statement goes against common sense in the GG industry.

What is common sense?

If a GG (Golden Goat) is used as a test in the center position and the result is good, then it can continue to be used in the center position.

The effects will accumulate gradually.

No one would suddenly demand to pay three times the price to jump to position A just because the center position is performing well; that's gambler's behavior.

A gear is the king of the gold gear, GG's throne.

Unless they expect this GG to generate astronomical levels of attention in the A segment.

"Mr. Fujii."

Kurata tried his best to sound like he wasn't interrogating anyone. "Two thousand phone calls...don't you think that's a bit conservative for a new guy?"

Fujii chuckled softly on the other end of the phone, a chuckle that Kurata didn't recognize—not smugness, but some kind of primal excitement: "Mr. Kurata."

Two thousand calls were received in the first hour after the broadcast.

We are still counting the results for the second hour.

There are only three people on duty at the customer service center.

Three people, answering two thousand phone calls.

Some people waited for over forty minutes after getting online just to ask who the man driving was.

They didn't come to buy cars, they came to worship!

Kurata stood there stunned for a long time before hanging up the phone.

The two young clerks looked at him, waiting for him to speak.

"Go and get me the price list for the A-tier GG variety show next week."

Then make three copies using a photocopier.

"Three portions?"

"One copy for Nissan, one for the archives, and one..." Kurata paused, lit a cigarette, and said, "I'll stick this on my desk. If any clients ask me why I spent so much money, I'll show them this."

Midnight, 00:10

The executive director's office is located on the seventh floor of TBS headquarters.

Masao Watanabe had planned to leave work on time tonight—his wife had invited him to dinner at a sushi restaurant in Ginza to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary.

He had already put on his coat and was about to leave at 7 p.m. when he was stopped at the elevator by an emergency report from the business bureau.

Now, just past midnight, he is still sitting in his office with five faxes, three handwritten memos, and a cup of coffee that has gone cold in front of him.

Sitting on the sofa opposite him were his three direct subordinates: Takahashi, the head of the sales department; Nakajima, the head of the organization department; and Morishita, the head of the reporting department.

There was another person standing by the window—the production director.

Watanabe tapped the thickest fax on the table with his finger: "Is this number accurate? Nissan received a total of six thousand calls?"

"It should be close to seven thousand by now." Sales manager Takahashi glanced at his watch. "Nissan dealerships all over the country have also received a lot of inquiries."

Some store managers told the operators on the phone, asking if they could ask the TV station to broadcast the video of the GG (a type of car) a few more times, because customers found that the real car couldn't drift as well as in the video.

"It's not our responsibility that the car can't drift," Director Nakajima interjected.

"But we broadcast GG." The head of the news department, Morishita, looked at Nakajima meaningfully. "And I heard that the editorial department of NHK's evening news was also cutting this news tonight."

They didn't mention "GG," only saying that an actor who was wronged used extreme driving to clear his name.

Once this narrative is established, we become the premiere television station.

History won't remember that Nissan bought the GG gearbox; history will remember that TBS aired that GG that night.

Watanabe remained silent. He picked up the remote control from the table and turned on the television in the corner—a monitor that watched the broadcast signals of various channels 24 hours a day. TBS was rebroadcasting a late-night drama. He switched to TV Asahi, then to Fuji TV, and finally back to TBS.

Have Asahi and Fuji contacted us?

"Yes." Sales Manager Takahashi pulled a fax from his briefcase. "The sales manager from Asahi TV just sent a fax. The wording was very polite, but the gist was the same: 'Which production company produced your GG? We'd like to make something similar.'"

"This is espionage," muttered Director Nakajima.

"It's business," Watanabe finally spoke, his voice low, but everyone fell silent. "Do you know how much the airtime fee for tonight's 'GG' is?"

No one answered.

"C-level, regular price."

That's equivalent to two dumpling meals plus a bottle of beer.

Watanabe stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to everyone.

"I had the production team estimate the filming costs for this GG, including the road closure fee for Karuizawa Mountain Road, the equipment cost for the photography team, the rental fee for a high-end aerial photography helicopter, the cost of four vehicle-mounted cameras, and the hourly rate of a professional tracking photographer."

Including the actors' fees, the total cost may exceed 120 million.

He turned around and looked at the four people sitting there.

"A production cost of 120 million, coupled with a broadcast fee of several hundred thousand, do you know what that means?"

Director Oba looked out the glass window at the Tokyo night view and suddenly laughed.

He got it.

"This means that the production value of GG far exceeds its broadcast value."

Our TV station isn't helping Nissan sell GG today; we're getting Nissan on our channel.

We profited from their content.

Their content turned our GG spot into a topic worth discussing.

"Not just the GG position."

As if he had made up his mind, Director Morishita added in a deep voice, "Director Watanabe, I suggest that the social phenomenon caused by the Nissan Z31GG be featured as a special report in tomorrow morning's news."

It doesn't need to be long, three minutes is enough, but it must be there.

"Because if we don't even report our own news, others will report it for us, and the historical record will show Asahi Shimbun as the first to report it, not TBS."

"And we can also invite that actor to be on the show."

Suddenly, the editor-in-chief, Nakajima, spoke up: "Didn't he act in 'Dangerous Detective'? We can do a special interview on the topic of 'From Being Besieged to Being Adored'—Behind Sakamoto Yu's Driving Experience."

Let's see if he's willing to come.

He could single-handedly boost the ratings for any time slot, if he wanted to.

Watanabe raised a hand, stopping everyone from speaking further.

He remained silent for a long time—maybe thirty seconds, maybe a minute.

Then he walked to his desk, picked up a pen, and wrote three lines on a blank sticky note.

He handed the note to the sales manager, Takahashi.

Takahashi looked down.

First line: Starting tomorrow, the Nissan Z31GG will be moved to A gear to prioritize broadcasting, and the original customers will be coordinated to make concessions.

The second line states that the production bureau will submit a "Live-Action Guy Production Collaboration Project" within two weeks to explore new models for automotive and sports-related Guys that involve direct collaboration with actors/athletes.

The third line: The Bureau of Reports will arrange a special report on "GG's social reaction" in tomorrow's morning news. The title is up to you and the length is no less than three minutes.

Takahashi looked up and met Watanabe's eyes, confirming that this was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Watanabe's expression was quiet yet resolute.

"Let's get started. Thanks for your hard work tonight."

Watanabe tidied up the documents on the table and walked towards the door.

He paused at the doorknob.

"There's one more thing, the TBSGG Awards at the end of this year, Best Actor award."

Put this person's name at the top of the candidate list.

"Now?"

"Now, eight months from now, you will thank me."

Watanabe opened the door and went out.

He canceled his sushi restaurant reservation and missed his 30th wedding anniversary dinner.

But as he walked out of the TBS building at midnight, watching the Tokyo Tower gleaming orange in the distance, he suddenly realized that tonight was the most memorable night of his career.

It's not because of how many cars a single GG sold.

It's because an actor proved to the whole of Japan in just thirty seconds that the realism of a visual is an irresistible drug for humanity.

And the TV station, which is always criticized for "getting more and more boring," really made all of Japan stop for those thirty seconds.

The person who caused all of this was at the home of the famous idol, Miho Nakayama.

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