Chapter 76: The Limitless Scam
November 8, 1998.
Paramount unexpectedly tripled the number of screens for DreamWorks' three films, surprising many onlookers.
"How is this possible? Did Paramount's people take the wrong medicine and start promoting these three plays?"
"Is DreamWorks giving Paramount a gift? I heard Chinese people like this kind of thing, otherwise why would they increase the number of screenings?"
"Unbelievable! Paramount also has a confused time!"
"Oh God, this time DreamWorks is lucky!"
……
With various rumors, Yi Fei Yang's three films "Buried Alive", "Cruise of Terror" and "Ghost Shadow Record" started a large-scale collective screening.
At the same time, Yi Feiyang also stopped hiding and dodging.
He has been waiting for such an opportunity all the time, and only when Paramount recognizes his play can his publicity stunt be as powerful as "Dragon Fist".
Good boy!
The ultimate stir-fry technique has begun!
Ultimate skill one: mobile phone SMS!
Mobile phones have been popular among many people since their emergence, especially among young people who love to follow the trend.
As one of the most developed countries in the West, the United States has always been a major market for mobile phone sales. The function of mobile phone text messaging has also been widely used by everyone as mobile phone sales have become more widespread. So much so that after 2000, mobile advertising business flooded, and many people would inexplicably receive all kinds of spam messages.
Until July 2004, in the US state of Kansas, a 32-year-old lawyer filed a lawsuit against mobile phone operators and advertisers, alleging that his wife had made large purchases of promotional products advertised via SMS, resulting in him unknowingly accumulating credit card debt, causing irreparable damage to his reputation and credibility, demanding compensation from the defendants.
The case ultimately ended with the young lawyer's victory, with the prosecution receiving $130,000 in damages for loss of reputation and other costs. The case also forced states across America to enact legislation to crack down on mobile phone spam messages, effectively controlling the rampant mobile phone spam that had plagued the US. In contrast to the obedient and submissive people of ancient China, Americans were already boldly saying "No!" to the barrage of mobile phone spam messages.
Of course, that's all in the future. What Easy Fly found out today in 1998 is that as a mainstream media of the future, many Americans still don't know the power of "text messaging"!
Or, people simply haven't opened the Pandora's box of mobile phone text messaging, unaware that this seemingly ordinary means of communication can generate huge profits in advertising business chains, and still only regard text messaging as private communication between individuals.
What a waste!
Too unexpected!
This is Yifei Yang's sigh after discovering this fact.
Imagine the past, various mobile phone advertisements flooded everywhere, making you overwhelmed and your phone almost bursting. Now, now the text messages on the phone are surprisingly "pure" to the point of being tongue-tied, except for "Mike, your mom is calling you home for dinner", "Child, come back home often", it's just simple "Baby, I love you, do you love me?", "Hey baby, let's meet tonight"...
Of course, now the SMS is still a very simple narrative text, no MMS, no color ringtone, and no visual enjoyment, only "basic functions of SMS".
But for Yi Feiyang, this was enough; he wanted to be the first person to dare to eat crab, using mobile phone text messages to promote his own movie!
Then, after Yi Feiyang spent only $1,000 and signed a cooperation agreement with a mobile communication department in Los Angeles, USA, the first SMS advertisement for film promotion in history was launched, with an experimental and fresh approach.
……
November 9, 1998.
Los Angeles bustling streets.
Beep beep beep beep!
The phone rang.
The fashionable young man raised his eyebrows, complacently took out the new Nokia mobile phone in the envy and jealousy of his little friends.
This mobile phone is different from the traditional straight-board mobile phones. It can be flipped open to answer calls and is small and exquisite, it can be said that it is a new favorite of fashionable men and women.
"Hey, buddy. Someone sent me a message. This new phone is great, the messaging function is top-notch..."
"What? This year's Halloween won't watch plays, if watching plays then just watch 'Dream Three Consecutive Hits'!"
"What the crap! What kind of message is this?!"
……
New York, Washington Square.
Ding ding ding, ding ding ding.
A blonde-haired, blue-eyed babe pulls out her Nokia phone from her low-rise jeans.
"Watch DreamWorks' new movie and join the big lottery!"
"What the heck? Halloween grand prize draw? The first prize is actually a new mobile phone plus $100 worth of phone bill?!"
The blonde girl was stunned, not because of the novelty of the text message, but because of her new phone and new phone bill... she had already owed expenses for half a month.
……
A certain bustling district in Chicago.
A woman in a sable coat, all furs and jewels, came out of the club with a purebred Pomeranian in her arms.
A luxury car came slowly.
The driver got out and helped her open the car door.
The noblewoman was about to enter when the mobile phone in her bag rang.
The noble lady put the dachshund in the car, took out her mobile phone from her handbag, and a text message appeared: "Three blockbusters from Dream Illusion Film Studio, spend Halloween with you!"
The noblewoman smiled and muttered to herself: "This message is quite interesting."
……
Undoubtedly, Yi Feiyang's pioneering "SMS" promotional method is a fresh experience for North American audiences.
Who would have thought that a mobile phone tool originally used for private messaging could also serve as a movie advertising platform? This has left many people astonished and has caused an earthquake-like shock in the mobile telecommunications industry.
Who knew mobile phones could be used like this!
Originally, advertisements can be embedded like this!
We've wasted such good resources for nothing!
Among numerous astonishing voices, in the future, mobile phone short messages as an advertising medium will be formally recorded in history.
But who would have thought that the "originator" of this matter was Yi Feiyang, and he proposed such a concept just to promote his own new plays.
As the short message spreads, his three films "Buried Alive", "Horror Cruise" and "Ghost Shadow Record" have also received more attention from citizens. At least everyone knows that China's Yi's three films will be released on Halloween!
……
Of course, in Yifeng's view, using Ingel's ghost stories to report newspaper clippings and using mobile phone text messages' freshness to attract people's attention are far from enough to help oneself promote the movie.
You must come up with another trick to thoroughly attract the audience's attention.
In this world, there are only three things that can attract people and explode in the eyes of the masses.
First, women!
Second, naked body!
Third, naked women!
Yi Feiyang then took out another one of his ultimate skills - Human Body Painting!
In fact, body painting as an art form has a long history, such as the totem worship of American Indians, who painted various patterns on their faces, buttocks, and those rebellious young people who got tattoos on their shoulders, bellies, chests, and backs.
However, it wasn't until May 1999 that the use of female nudity to display artistic patterns as a form of news event caught people's attention.
A young and beautiful model was surrounded by withered branches and dry grass, sitting quietly in the center of the stage, with dazzling patterns drawn on her face and exposed chest in red and white, this is a scene that took place on the streets of Los Angeles.
On that day, thousands of people enjoyed the body painting show called "Dialogue with God" and "Natural Beauty", and onlookers in Los Angeles remained calm. This was the first time a nude model had been displayed in public in the United States at that time, but the citizens of Los Angeles accepted this "physical performance" with composure and rationality.
Artists used brushes to create magic on various materials, but one day someone discovered that the human body was the best medium for beauty. They boldly used their bodies as canvases and painted various patterns on models with special makeup oil, making the human body a work of art. This is the origin of body painting.
Now, Yi Feiyang is about to break through the historical trajectory and bring out this new art form ahead of time!
……
November 10, 1998
Yi Feiyang used this creative and unique artistic approach, hiring dozens of professional models with a large sum of money. In the cold winter, before Halloween, they came to various shopping malls, in front of stores selling ghost masks, pumpkin lanterns, and Halloween gifts. They boldly and generously exposed their bodies, on which were painted all sorts of terrifying images that made people's hair stand on end. The content of these images was basically taken from Yi Feiyang's three films "Buried Alive", "Horror Cruise" and "Ghost Shadow Record".
Beautiful and alluring body!
Thrilling, horrific painting!
Formed a powerful visual impact!
As if angels and demons were making love together!
……
Los Angeles residents were stunned!
I was thoroughly shocked by the outrageous behavior of these nude models!
My God, is this Halloween or Thanksgiving?!
What kind of plane is this?!
The kids stared at Auntie's shiny buttocks and said, "I want to drink milk!"
Men lined up in a row, watching and watching, "It's free, so why not take a look!"
Women are jealous and hateful, pulling their husbands or boyfriends, "Damn it, haven't you had enough? Come on, let's go home!"
Those media reporters: "Oh thank God, finally some material!"
"Look at the changing winds and clouds, nude models transform into new fashion!"
"It's all because of horror movies, blonde beauties undress for film promotions!"
"Meng Huan Entertainment's ultimate move, beautiful woman bares her chest, what's going on?!"
……
Of course, there are also some Los Angeles justice warriors who strongly criticized this.
"What's the essential difference between a naked beauty acting as a hairstylist to attract customers? Body painting is just a commercial activity!"
Some people pointed out with "heart pain and head shaking": "Some self-proclaimed artists use body painting to express their twisted life experiences, which is not only a blasphemy of art, but also a trampling of the dignity of life! Others believe that in today's society, where the popular culture is 'fish and dragons mixed together', extraordinary art can only be a rare occurrence. Using the human body to promote movies is more about enslaving money and sex - if it's really like this, if an art form has fallen to being just a tool for making money, then how much of its own consciousness is left? If an art form is only used to satisfy sensory stimulation and pursue curiosity, then how much development space does its world of meaning have?"
Yi Feiyang is delighted, just worried that no one would stand up to sing the white face, now it's good, since someone has criticized, then there must be someone who will raise objections, so he doesn't worry about the propaganda force being weak...
Beyond someone's expectation.
As many noble people strongly condemned Yi Fei Yang for using "body painting" to promote his film, some trendy people openly supported this new art form, new perspective and new promotional model.
A public opinion war has thus begun.
As the central issue of this war, the three dramas under Yi Feiyang have become a constant topic of discussion in the media.
"What's 'cell phone texting' and 'body painting', two big tricks were launched one after another, making the whole Los Angeles upside down, it's hard to imagine what DreamWorks will do."
It can be said that with just a few thousand dollars in advertising investment, they achieved the effect of tens of millions of dollars in investment, which made Mr. Gusta, the boss of Lion Gate Films, who had previously collaborated with Yi Feiyang, very depressed.
This Chinese chess is very frustrating!
The advertising effect of investing 3 million yuan by himself is not as powerful as his two moves.
Haven't you seen it? On all major media platforms, he's the headline news?!
My God, you've really blinded your dog's eyes!
