Jiang Wanmeng did not expect much from advertising. Advertising was only a form of marketing to let the audiences remember the name of the brand. What more can advertising do?
But after he read the commercial script written by Feng Yu, he was convinced.
“Manager Feng, this advertising message is terrific! We will surely win!”
Feng Yu was overjoyed, but he did not show it on his face. He fake a modest look. “You never know until it’s played.”
“I am not sure how this commercial will affect those overseas viewers. But in China, it will surely be effective. The other VCD brands should be finished. But this commercial seems to be quite long. I thought our TV stations limit the advertisements to 30 seconds?” Jiang Wanmeng asked.
“For CCTV, there is a limit of 30 seconds. But the local TV stations can give us 2 minutes. This commercial is exactly 2 minutes.” Feng Yu had considered this. The other VCD brands were advertising on the local TV stations, and we will also go there to advertise.
This will stop them in their path.
……
“Wind and Rain Super VCD player. Choose from 4 sounds channels and switch from Chinese to Cantonese at your preference. 9 types of display modes for your movies. Unique countdown timer to let you control your watch time. Wind and Rain Electronics. The inventor of VCD, a pioneer in the industry and leading brand. Wind and Rain Super VCD payers. Often imitated, but NEVER exceeded!”
This was the basic 30 seconds commercial. No faces appeared in the commercial. There was only a pair of hands, a remote control, a Super VCD player and a TV monitor in the commercial.
With only a few words, the Super VCD player’s features were explained. The words “Inventor, Pioneer, and leading brand” clearly shows the difference between Wind and Rain Super VCD player and other VCD players.
This commercial showed Wind and Rain Electronics’ superiority over Toshiba and the other VCD player brands. Even Aiwa and Philips had no way to retort them. The advertising message was not exaggerated. Wind and Rain Electronics was really the inventor, pioneer, and the leader in the VCD industry.
The two minutes commercial was slightly different. The start of the commercial shows a family gathering and Nan Ge was holding a mic singing in front of a TV. His amazing vocals attracted the applause of the people at the gathering.
Then, Nan Ge pressed a few buttons on the Super VCD player to choose the audio channels. He purposely shows that he could mute the original sound of the artist, can mute the mic and have a sing-along the function.
“For VCD players, I will only choose Wind and Rain brand. The international brand from China you can trust!”
After Nan Ge said the advertising message, the scene changed to a close up of the Super VCD player. It ends with Wind and Rain’s logo and the brand slogan. Often imitated, but NEVER exceeded!
This advertising slogan made all the other VCD player manufacturers furious.
Damn. We bought the authorization for the patents from you all and paid you for every unit we produce. Yet you turn around and step all over us!
“Often imitated, but NEVER exceeded!” What stupid slogan was this?!
If you all do not have patent protection, the VCD players might even have more features. Furthermore, who said we are imitating you all? Our exterior designs and colors were different from yours. How can you claim that we are imitating you all?
Never been exceeded? What’s the meaning of this? You really think that Wind and Rain Electronics will maintain the lead in front of everyone else?! What until we set the industry standards and replace you. We shall see who’s the loser!
Soon, AIWA Super VCD player’s commercial also appeared. The 30 seconds commercial was about the same, but it emphasizes on the audio quality. But the 2 minutes long commercial was filmed in a Karaoke lounge. There was still no Karaoke lounge yet. At least it was still not available in China.
Na Ying was singing, and everyone in the lounge was cheering.
“Using Aiwa Super VCD player feels like in a recording studio. I can practice my singing at home in the future. VCD, high-quality audio enjoyment. I love Aiwa.”
The camera zoom in on the Super VCD player and the advertising slogan appeared. Aiwa Electronics. I love China.
The overseas version of the commercials was different. But all the 30 seconds versions were about the same. It all showed the product, and no faces were shown. But the longer version of the commercials was different. The actor was changed to Hong Kong’s God of Songs, Jacky Cheung. This was because Jacky Cheung was going to hold a concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden next year. He was also the top Chinese male singer.
Because Jacky Cheung had decided to stop acting these two years, his endorsement fees were not high. It was only 1 million USD per year. But Feng Yu bargained because of this reason. He also argued that this commercial will be aired all over the world, and it will increase Jacky Cheung’s popularity. Feng Yu used Jacky Chan’s endorsement fees for The Little Tyrant as an example. He only offered Jacky Cheung 5 million HKD per year for 5 years.
After some bargaining from both parties, they settled on the terms of the contract. 30 million HKD for 5 years. Jacky Cheung had to film two commercials every year, some print ads, attend 4 promotional events and some other miscellaneous conditions. Feng Yu felt it was a great bargain! In the next two years, Jacky Cheung will be presented an international music award from International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. His albums were also selling well. He only lost to Michael Jackson in record sales.
This advertising campaign was massive. Feng Yu had poured all of this year’s profits from the regular VCD players into this campaign. Despite using all of his earnings, Feng Yu did not make any losses. He still had the gains from the Super VCD players and the authorization fees. Most importantly, his brand value will increase further. These were all not measurable temporary. The value can only be seen with Wind, and Rain Electronics got listed.
Wind and Rain’s advertising slogan: ‘Often imitated, but NEVER exceeded!’ was implying to the audiences that only Wind and Rain VCD players were the original. The rest of the brands were imitations. This was to raise Wind and Rain Electronics’ status.
AIWA maintained their usual style. They focus on audio quality. The spokesperson for their Super VCD players was the same spokesperson who signed with them last year. The most popular female singer, Madonna.
Although Madonna’s endorsement fees were very high, she endorsed all of AIWA’s products. AIWA could use her in their advertisements for all music related products. Of course, Madonna also has to film 2 commercials and attend 2 promotional events every year.
The first part of the year, AIWA had invited Madonna to film a CD player commercial and gotten good results. The second commercial this year was for the Super VCD player.
Wind and Rain, Aiwa, and AIWA brands started to spend large amounts into their advertising campaign worldwide. They also reminded Philips. Although they had formed an alliance, they were still competing against each other for the Super VCD player sales. If Philips did not step up their advertising campaign for the Super VCD players, they would lose the market share to Feng Yu.
So, Philips also start to market its products aggressively…….
Translator’s notes:
Jacky Cheung
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacky_Cheung
