Chapter 58: The Goddess of Advertising
At this moment, the comedy king that Li Sishi was secretly "missing" was also looking up at the latest version of the advertisement for Sunny Lemon Tea.
"What's wrong? You finally have a little bit of rest time, and instead of resting, you're looking at pretty girls?" His friend Qu Dexiao teased him with interest when he saw him like this.
“I’m watching this ad. It’s well-made, and the switching between the male and female leads is also feasible,” Zhou Shengyi said, stroking his chin.
“Indeed, it feels very natural after the transition.” Knowing that Zhou Shengyi most liked to draw inspiration from the works he had worked with, Qu Dexiao looked at the advertisement carefully and nodded in agreement, “It’s also similar to the route of the movie that made you famous…”
"It's a pity, though. Li Sishi is this year's Miss Hong Kong, so even if we finish writing the script, she won't have time to film it." Thinking of this, Qu Dexiao sighed again.
“It’s not that we absolutely have to have her. Once you and I have the power to decide on a movie, the female lead isn’t actually that important,” Zhou Shengyi said, shaking his head.
"Don't think that far ahead. Let's talk about it after you finish filming your latest movie!" Qu Dexiao said with a smile.
The two of them were indeed thinking a bit too far ahead. Zhou Shengyi had become an overnight sensation and a rising star in the film industry after following the trend of the blockbuster gambling film "God of Gamblers II" and creating "Lucky God of Gamblers II" with special abilities as its theme. No one knew how many investors were trying to get him to make movies, especially comedies and gambling films.
However, as a friend, Qu Dexiao knew that Zhou Shengyi didn't really want to continue making gambling films, and he didn't want to make those simple, nonsensical comedies to make quick money anymore. Instead, he hoped to add some "depth" to his films, making them both funny and touching, and leaving a lasting impression.
"Let me try a little harder, and I should be able to say more later." Zhou Shengyi sighed helplessly.
Don't be fooled by the fact that everyone has been calling him "Master Sheng" these past two years, making it sound like he can compete with those super big names... In reality, this kind of "Master Sheng" is just a flash in the pan, like a castle in the air without any foundation, looking magnificent but ultimately vulnerable.
If one or two of his starring films fail, he will definitely regress to a level where he was not even as good as "Shengzai" back then.
Unaware of Zhou Shengyi's deep concerns, Li Sishi, after pondering the potential box office bombshell for a moment, returned her focus to her career.
It has to be said that Cheng Erjian really has some issues with his own perception of his appearance.
Every time he plays a handsome male role that is widely recognized by the public, he looks uncomfortable with his performance as if it is greasy, and he makes it very obvious. In short, every time he sees the Sunny Lemon Tea commercial, he feels like a hedgehog that has been pricked by quills and wants to find a corner to hide in for a while.
Over time, not only did his female friends like Li Sishi and Zhou Huichang look down on him, but even his male friends like Luo Xuan and Zhou Huiguang started to think that he was being a little bit hypocritical, getting the better deal while pretending to be innocent...
If I hadn't known that this guy was genuinely shy and always worked diligently despite his embarrassment, I might have grabbed him, shaken him a few times, and yelled, "You're famous now, and you still have the nerve to show off in front of us nobodies?"
Hearing about Cheng Erjian from Li Sishi, Le Yun couldn't stop laughing: "You know your senior brother's personality, stop laughing at him."
Although the person who laughed the loudest at the scene was the one who was making a show of being a good master while laughing so hard that his eyes were practically closed.
Li Sishi glanced at the aggrieved Cheng Erjian, picked up the thermos and took a couple of sips of tea to relieve the thirst from practicing singing for so long, then turned to Le Yun and said, "By the way, Master, I have to shoot an advertisement later, so I probably won't have time to come and practice next week."
"Oh, you have a new job again? That's great! What is it this time?" Le Yun asked with a smile.
“It’s an advertisement for Lo Kee Telecom, filmed with Leo.” Li Sishi briefly explained what she knew. “I heard that Lo Kee Telecom values this advertisement very much. If it gets a good response after it’s released, they will increase the production budget and continue filming.”
"That's great. If you do your best, you might become the first protagonist of another classic advertising series." Le Yun glanced at Cheng Erjian meaningfully.
"I will definitely work hard!" Li Sishi clenched her fist, looking full of energy, and couldn't help but smile when she saw Le Yun.
Having taken leave from both her school and her mentor, and waiting for Lu Yiting to arrange the filming schedule, Li Sishi followed her assistant Zuo Lili to the filming location with great pride and confidence.
As a newcomer, Li Sishi naturally intended to cultivate a "dedicated" image. When she arrived at the filming location, it was still quite early before the agreed time, so all that could be seen on site was the set that had not yet been set up, as well as various staff members busily moving around.
Seeing this, Li Sishi spoke with the PA in charge of miscellaneous tasks to confirm that makeup and styling hadn't started yet, and then very skillfully found...
He would unfold a folding chair in a corner, sit down, and then take out the script to study it again.
Although this advertisement is just a short film and she doesn't appear for long, the requirements for pairing with a popular female celebrity like Ling Chen, who has a huge female fanbase, are definitely higher than those for the previous lemon tea advertisement.
As if on cue, just as Li Sishi was once again trying to imagine the surprised tone of the female lead's voice when she received the call, a very cheerful voice came from above her head: "Hey, you're here so early?"
“You’re up early too.” Li Sishi looked up at the silly, cute smile of the elementary school student meeting his best friend in the early morning, then looked down at her watch.
Perhaps it was because of their previous collaboration on Project Sun that he considered them to be friends, so that elegant prince persona never reappeared, and instead he always acted like a spirited young man in front of her...
Thinking back on the three superstars I've met so far, apart from Hou Beihua whom I haven't had the chance to collaborate with yet, one of them is a chatterbox, another is a gluttonous and mischievous tough girl, and the third is a silly and goofy young man who occasionally shows up in a ridiculous and funny state... I can only say that distance is indeed the first element that makes beauty.
Of course, despite her inner complaints, Li Sishi sincerely thanked Ling Chen on the surface: "I heard that you put in a good word for me during this advertisement shoot, thank you very much."
"Don't be so polite, it's not like we've never worked together before." Ling Chen ignored his manager's speechless gaze and pulled up a folding chair to sit down. "Besides, the inspiration for this ad came from you, didn't it?"
As he spoke, he winked at Li Sishi—if it were the elegant prince version of Ling Chen, then it would be considered a charming wink. Unfortunately, the person sitting next to Li Sishi was the energetic young man Ling Chen, so such a wink looked like a primary school student conspiring with his friends to play a prank…
Seeing the atmosphere between the two, Lu Yiting and Lei Jun, the manager of Lingchen, exchanged a glance and immediately saw the same speechless look in each other's eyes: Logically speaking, young artists with good looks should easily spark a romance and spread rumors when they get together, but these two are like elementary school best friends. There is no spark, not even a ripple.
No wonder that even though the two filmed a rather beautiful music video before, and their performance had a very intimate feel to it, nothing came of it.
But that's fine too. If the rumors weren't intentional, it won't bother either of them.
What a good thing.
"Leo, May, it's time to get your hair and makeup done." A staff member came over and greeted them.
The two got up from the folding chairs at the same time, but the timing of their styling and the resulting effects were worlds apart: In this advertisement, Lingchen plays a character named "Leon".
He's a popular male singer, and the storyline takes place during a concert, so he doesn't really need any major changes. He can simply get his hair done and change into a pre-prepared stage outfit.
In this advertisement, Li Sishi plays a pitiful young girl who can't go to her idol's concert because of a foot injury. So, she has to drastically change her current image as a female celebrity, changing to home pajamas and a makeup look that's almost bare-faced, and then wrapping a very noticeable big bandage around her foot...
Because the large bandage bundle was too restrictive, Li Sishi simply sat on the prop bed that had been set up so that someone could bandage her up. Even though she didn't move the thing around, the bandage bundle, which was as big as a football, still became the laughing stock of the entire audience.
"OK, world, get ready, the first episode of 'Voice of Passion'—A!"
Amidst countless glow sticks swaying like a galaxy, the male lead, Leon, passionately sang the song he dedicated to his fans: "Is it you, the one holding flowers? You and I once secretly made a promise in our dreams to meet this summer..."
A short-haired girl, swaying to the music with her friend beside her, held up her cell phone and shouted, "Did you hear that? Leon is singing..."
"Getting an autograph is enough." The scene shifts to Ah May, played by Li Sishi. The dark and quiet little room contrasts with the lively and dazzling concert, and the poor little girl who missed her idol's concert looks aggrieved.
The camera shifts back to the concert, and as the song reaches its chorus, a smoke effect erupts throughout the venue. Amidst this, the popular male singer on stage inadvertently catches a glimpse of a short-haired girl being shielded by security personnel…
The next second, the poor little girl, who had just hung up her cell phone call and was pouting, had her attention diverted by the ringing of the phone next to her bedside table—
"Hello?
"Ah May, an autograph isn't really that important, is it?" The short-haired girl said in a tone that suggested she couldn't complete the task, and then, without waiting for a response from the other end of the phone, she smiled and handed the cell phone to Leon, who had come to her.
"May, how are you?" A question uttered with unparalleled affection and tenderness.
Then it rang out.
"Leon?!" Upon hearing this, the pitiful little girl on the hospital bed immediately changed her previous dejected state, and her eyes seemed to sparkle with infinite surprise in the dark.
The sudden change in expression brought a smile to everyone's face.
Until the next moment, when the screen switched to "Luo Ji Telecom Interconnect"... What the heck? This isn't a trailer for a romantic movie, but an advertisement for mobile phones?!
While I was shocked, this high-quality, story-driven advertisement was indeed quite novel; before this, there was only the lemon tea ad.
But the male lead in the lemon tea scene is nowhere near as famous as the one in the mobile phone scene—of course.
The two products are priced differently and targeted at different demographics.
However, compared to the knowing smiles of most casual viewers towards this advertisement, Lingchen's fans had a different perspective: following Li Sishi's previous collaboration with Lingchen in a music video, this was the second time Li Sishi appeared as "Ah May".
The character "Ah May" is undoubtedly a fangirl who loves the early hours of the morning—basically, she is one of these fans.
Driven by a love-hate relationship and the sentiment of "I can't believe this is how my idol sees me," Li Sishi, the devoted fangirl, has once again garnered a lot of support and love from her fans. Some have even started shipping them as a couple, saying that the two are a perfect match... which is practically like me dating my idol, isn't it?!
Everyone needs to have dreams, right?
In this situation, Li Sishi, following her role as the adorable and youthful school beauty from Sunny Lemon Tea who was particularly popular among male high school students in the port city, has now gained another image: a lucky little fangirl who "successfully dated her idol," and has even gained a lot of female fans as a result...
Thanks to these two advertisements that were replayed day and night, Li Sishi's advertising value soared, and she also gained a large number of new casual fans, gradually breaking her previous titles and earning a new title of "Advertising Goddess"—referring both to her beautiful and healthy image in the advertisements and her truly impressive ability to drive sales.
The entertainment and business circles in Hong Kong have always been characterized by following the crowd and chasing trends. Seeing that Li Sishi's two consecutive advertisements had received excellent responses, invitations to shoot advertisements for her came one after another.
However, after checking and confirming that the quality of the products and the production budget of these invited products were not as good as the two advertisements, Lu Yiting, after consulting with Zhuang Menghua, directly rejected them all.
"Your compensation reflects your position in this industry. Don't lower your worth for short-term gains," Lu Yiting said, then pushed another notice across the table for Li Sishi to look at carefully. "You'll be preparing for one of the TV station's anniversary programs this year. I'll try to secure you a prominent spot with considerable exposure."
"And the female celebrities standing in the same position as you on this show are Ye Shanxin, Cen Xilian, and Tang Jingwen."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com