Starting from a Bar to Sign Internet Celebrities-Chapter 94 - 92: This Ad Concept Will Shock Even President Lei

Chapter 94: Chapter 92: This Ad Concept Will Shock Even President Lei

Jiang Hong smiled but said nothing.

Li Xinfeng was the male celebrity Rice had hired for their power strips. They had only brought Chen Jincheng on board because of his popularity. Now that President Lei intended to pit him against Li Xinfeng, his marketing plan couldn’t be too terrible, or there would be no point to the competition.

That was why they had also brought Li Xinfeng’s marketing plan for them to see, giving Second-Life Star a reference point so they wouldn’t turn in something too mediocre.

He knew Second-Life Star had produced two impressive ads for pajamas and stockings, but he had seen them. They were all rather risqué, leveraging the inherently suggestive nature of such products.

But power strips were completely different. There was no angle for them to get suggestive.

Meanwhile, Li Xinfeng’s campaign had been meticulously crafted by his agency’s media and advertising department. Ordinarily, an influencer agency wouldn’t be able to produce a marketing plan of that caliber.

Of course, if Second-Life Star could produce an ad for power strips that was as good as their pajama and stocking commercials, it would be truly remarkable.

Jiang Hong and his subordinate waited for a moment before the elevator arrived.

They entered the elevator and pressed the button for the 8th floor.

When they reached the 8th floor and stepped out of the elevator, they saw a woman waiting for them. According to their background check, she was the head of Second-Life Star, Sister Hong.

"President Jiang, welcome, welcome!" Sister Hong had clearly done her homework as well, recognizing Jiang Hong immediately. She stepped forward to shake his hand.

"Sister Hong, I’m looking forward to working with you," Jiang Hong replied with a smile.

"This way, President Jiang," Sister Hong said, ushering Jiang Hong into the Second-Life Star offices and leading him straight to a meeting room.

Meanwhile, in his office, Chen Jincheng had already printed out the marketing plan for the power strip and plug. After receiving a message from Sister Hong, he grabbed the document and headed to the meeting room.

As soon as he entered, he saw Jiang Hong.

’So it really is him.’

’He’s much younger than the Jiang Hong from my previous life, who was already at the peak of his career.’

’But he’s destined to become a key member of Lei Xiaojun’s marketing team, so he must have a sharp eye for this sort of thing. He’ll definitely be able to recognize the genius of the "A Plug and Socket’s Love Story" proposal.’

"President Jiang, I’ve heard great things about you," Chen Jincheng said as he shook his hand.

"Mr. Chen, I’m looking forward to working with you," Jiang Hong replied with a smile, then cut straight to the chase. "Since we’ve already agreed in principle to cooperate, shall we sign the contract first and then discuss the marketing plan in detail?"

"Sounds good, President Jiang," Chen Jincheng said with a smile.

Both parties had already agreed to the collaboration, and Sister Hong had the contract ready. She promptly brought it over.

Jiang Hong reviewed the contract carefully. Seeing no issues, he signed his name.

With the contract signed, Jiang Hong gestured to his subordinate. It was time to present Li Xinfeng’s marketing plan and let the team at Second-Life Star see the gap they had to close.

The subordinate understood and was about to pull out the document, but Chen Jincheng preempted him, presenting his own printed copy. "President Jiang, this is the marketing plan Second-Life Star has prepared for the Rice power strip. Please, take a look."

Jiang Hong smiled. ’Interesting.’

’Looks like this Second-Life Star is quite confident. I just hope their work isn’t too far behind Li Xinfeng’s.’

He took the marketing plan and began to read. The first thing he saw was the large title: "A Plug and Socket’s Love Story!"

’Are they planning to film one of those short, romantic-style commercials with a couple?’

’Hiring a handsome man and a beautiful woman is one approach, I suppose, but it’s a bit cliché.’

But as he read on, his expression slowly changed from surprise to utter disbelief.

He finally understood why they had asked for custom plastic mascot heads of a plug and a socket.

This wasn’t about a human couple at all. The female protagonist was a white plug looking for a compatible socket to fall in love with.

As he looked at the storyboards, he saw the white female plug encountering different sockets—at a bus stop, on a bus, in a coffee shop, at the office—but none of them were a match. He could feel her dejection and anxiety just from the simple drawings.

Finally, a universal socket (the Rice Magic Cube Universal Socket) appeared. At first, when it turned to face the female plug, its outlets were still not the right type.

It glanced at the female plug, then gave its own head a sudden twist. A new set of outlets appeared, but they still weren’t a match.

It twisted three times. Just as the female plug’s expression was sinking into disappointment, a compatible set of outlets appeared. Her disappointment instantly vanished, replaced by a look of pure joy.

The ad ended with the plug and socket embracing as they finally connected.

The tagline—"Rice Universal Socket. A thoughtful socket, so every plug can power up on time"—appeared at the perfect moment, acting as the masterstroke.

"Absolutely brilliant," Jiang Hong couldn’t help but exclaim.

He had a feeling this commercial could win awards for its creativity and design.

’But did an influencer agency really come up with this?’

’Incredible.’

He continued reading the final part of the proposal. After the tagline, the scene would cut to the universal socket embracing and connecting with a different, pink female plug. Then, another cut, and it would be embracing and connecting with a blue one.

In the final shot, the universal socket would be in an alley, where it would take off its plastic mascot head to reveal the face of Chen Jincheng.

"PFFT!" Upon reading this, Jiang Hong couldn’t control himself and burst out laughing.

’Mind-blowing. Absolutely mind-blowing.’

’He was very familiar with Chen Jincheng’s "socket incident," so he got the joke instantly.’

’The key is, it’s just too perfect.’

Seeing his boss’s reaction, the subordinate glanced down at the proposal he was holding, his eyes asking a silent question. Jiang Hong quickly shook his head. ’Hell, with a plan this good, what’s the point of showing them Li Xinfeng’s for comparison?’

’In fact, now he was worried about a different kind of gap. The problem wasn’t that Second-Life Star’s plan would be too far behind Li Xinfeng’s. It was that Li Xinfeng’s plan was going to be left in the dust by Second-Life Star’s.’

’Yes, just a moment ago he thought Li Xinfeng’s marketing plan was excellent. But compared to this one from Second-Life Star, it was a world apart. They weren’t even in the same league.’

’When the time comes, if a celebrity’s commercial gets beaten by an influencer’s, it’s going to be pretty embarrassing for him.’

’Then again, that could be a good thing. A celebrity’s ad getting overshadowed by an influencer’s... that would create a huge amount of buzz.’

’This is truly an unexpected and pleasant surprise.’

The subordinate, apparently not following his train of thought, looked at him in confusion.

Jiang Hong quickly handed him Second-Life Star’s proposal.

The subordinate took the document and began to read. A moment later, he silently and discreetly tucked away Li Xinfeng’s proposal.

’If Second-Life Star’s ad had been terrible, showing them this would have been a gesture of goodwill, a way to give them a benchmark.’

’But now, anyone with half a brain could see how brilliant Second-Life Star’s proposal was. Pulling out Li Xinfeng’s plan at this point would just be embarrassing for them.’

"So, is President Jiang satisfied with our plan?" Chen Jincheng asked at that moment with a wide grin.

"Satisfied? I’m more than satisfied! I never imagined you could produce such a brilliant plan, Mr. Chen," Jiang Hong gushed, his tone now urgent. "Mr. Chen, when can we film the commercial?"

Chen Jincheng smiled. "President Jiang, I’ve already got a crew on standby for the shoot. We’re just waiting on those plastic mascot heads from you."

"Mr. Chen, the heads came over on the same flight with us. I’ve already arranged for someone to pick them up; they should be here any minute now," Jiang Hong quickly explained, already pulling out his phone to make a call and hurry things along.

’He really, really wanted to see the finished commercial as soon as possible.’

’Once this commercial is filmed and I report back, President Lei’s jaw is going to hit the floor. He’ll never believe an influencer’s agency produced this!’