Chapter 357: Spokesperson for Brain Gold!
Chinese department in the school campus.
There were trucks going back and forth, carrying construction materials and making loud noises.
Zhang Ye slowly walked up as he listened in on their conversation.
Wu Zeqing blandly replied, “With so many celebrities in the entertainment circle to choose from, why did you have to find our school’s Little Zhang? Wouldn’t it be all the same if you just got someone else? Hur hur, since Little Zhang’s from Peking University and we are an educational institute, it would be fine if we were discussing educational work. Even if I am your aunt, I cannot give you a pass on this. If it gets out, it wouldn’t be good, would it? Look for someone regarding this, wouldn’t it be the same no matter who your spokesperson is?”
Wu Mo had a rather handsome face. His face was a little small, but he still had nice features. He and Wu Zeqing shared certain similar features.
Wu Mo quickly answered, “Of course it won’t be the same. How can anyone else compare to Zhang Ye? I can’t possibly afford an A or B-list celebrity, their fees are too high. As for those C or D-listers, only Zhang Ye stands out amongst them. I value Teacher Zhang Ye’s fan base very much. His fanbase has people from all sorts of age groups, a few years old, teenagers, 20-somethings, 30-somethings, 40-somethings. Other products might not like it since they are only targeting a certain age group, but our company deals with health food, the wider the audience, the better.”
Wu Zeqing said, “Aren’t there other celebrities that fit your description too?”
“There are.” Wu Mo said, “But they can’t be compared to Zhang Ye. Among those who sing or act, there are a few who are suitable, but the management team in my company had come to a conclusion after two days of discussion that Zhang Ye is still the most suitable. There’s no other reason than how authoritative Zhang Ye is. He has a good image too. What I mean is not the image that is his appearance, but the fact that he is a Peking University lecturer. Who doesn’t know about Peking University? It is a trusted name to everyone. As someone who is in the education industry, he is someone who would naturally be trusted. He’s very convincing as he is famous for speaking his mind. He had never done a sponsorship for someone before, so it has to be him!”
Wu Zeqing looked at him, “What? You even want to use education to cheat people?”
Wu Mo quickly explained, “Aunt, I’m not trying to cheat people here. Don’t you know me well enough? Our products are all certified by the authorities and are of industry standards. The quality is guaranteed. Can you just hook me up since Zhang Ye is not formally a teacher of Peking University, there shouldn’t be any restrictions to him endorsing us.”
Wu Zeqing smiled, “Why don’t you go find him yourself?”
Wu Mo said helplessly, “Do you think I didn’t try? I had gotten the advertising company to contact Zhang Ye. They didn’t get to meet him and even didn’t manage to contact him. According to my knowledge, a few other companies have also tried to get Zhang Ye to endorse them but all of them hit a roadblock. The WebTV station rejected all of them because Zhang Ye apparently did not want too much trouble and he does not have a manager. That is why he asked his unit to reject all approaches from companies for endorsements. According to them, Zhang Ye will not accept small and medium corporation’s endorsements, so there is no way to even negotiate.”
A drop of sweat dripped down Zhang Ye’s forehead. He had indeed said something like that.
With his current popularity, he was in great demand. For example, Nanjing University wanted to invite him to take on teaching duties, while there were publishing houses who wanted to invite him to write a book for them. Quite a number of singers wanted to invite him to write songs for them, and many television stations wanted him to create programs for them. There were also many companies who wished he would be their spokesperson. However, Zhang Ye was different from other celebrities. When he became a spokesperson, it was not because of money. To him, money was not something he needed in excess. What he valued the most was popularity and fame. If he became a spokesperson for a small company in a small commercial, especially those that were counterfeit products, every appearance on television would drop his name. It was not up to the mark. So even though he would earn money and receive some exposure, the effects on his popularity would only be negative. People would look down on Zhang Ye every time they saw such a commercial, so it was not worth it. Hence, he never accepted commercials from small companies. If he wanted to do one, he had to do a big one, one that showed his face. Even if there was no money to be made, he would do it.
Such as an advertisement for Coca-Cola.
Or a listed company’s commercial.
However, conglomerates would not be lacking in money. They would hire A-list or even S-list superstars, or international superstars. They would naturally not invite Zhang Ye, hence, Zhang Ye had never set up “camp” in this arena, and never thought about being a spokesperson.
Wu Mo carried on. “Aunt, can’t you just take pity on me? I really want to invite Teacher Zhang Ye. It was just a joke to ask you to help my company hire him through the backdoor. As long as he accepts the commercial, we will not be stingy on the fees for his services. Actually, what we value the most is Zhang Ye’s commercial planning ability. Back when he had planned two commercials, one was the electricity conversation Public Service advertisement, and the other was ‘I’ll speak for myself’ as a program promotional clip. You should have seen both of them, right? They were all done by Zhang Ye himself. It was too awesome! We got the commercial company to customize a few commercial proposals, but all of them were far from ideal. There was little creativity in them, so it would definitely not work. The airing of the fifteen second commercial every day costs a lot, so it has to be used properly. Be it the spokesperson or the commercial planning, I can only count on Teacher Zhang Ye. There are only a few days left before the commercial needs to be aired. If this goes on any further, my company will really go bankrupt!”
Wu Zeqing calmly shook her hand. “It’s not appropriate for me to mention such matters, nor can I do so.”
Wu Mo said, “Teacher Zhang is from the Chinese department. If you can’t do it, who can?”
“I think it’s better if you…” Upon saying this, Wu Zeqing looked sideways. “Little Zhang?”
With Zhang Ye spotted, his pace returned to a normal speed, “President Wu, good morning.”
Wu Zeqing smiled. “Good morning.”
Wu Mo’s eyes widened as if he was a weasel seeing chickens. “Teacher Zhang! You are Teacher Zhang, right!? Aiyah, I nearly failed to recognize you. You are so much more handsome in person than on TV!” Disregarding everything, Wu Mo immediately began flattering. He rushed up to shake Zhang Ye’s hand, and as he forcefully shook it, he said, “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you. I’ve always been hoping to meet you, but it was a pity I never managed to meet up with you!”
Zhang Ye pretended to not know anything. It wouldn’t be right if they knew he had been eavesdropping. “Oh? Is there something for me? And you are?”
Wu Mo said, “I’m Wu Mo. I’m the CEO of a small company. This is my aunt.” He pointed to Wu Zeqing, so as to strengthen their bonds.
Zhang Ye shook hands with him. “So you are President Wu’s nephew? Nice to meet you.”
Wu Zeqing did not say anything, as if she pretended not to hear anything. This was already something, as she did not forbid her nephew from using her as a liason. Of course, there was no way to deny it as it was a fact.
Wu Mo held onto Zhang Ye’s hand without letting it go. He then began to ramble on most of the things Zhang Ye had already heard once. He threw out a warm invitation and then said, “As long as you are willing, our company will be willing to pay you the price of a C-list celebrity. The commercial planning fees will be separately counted!”
It seemed like a generous offer since Zhang Ye was offered the cost it took to hire a C-list celebrity despite being one of the top few D-list celebrities. In fact, that was not the case because Zhang Ye walked the untrodden path. Although the Celebrity Rankings had yet to push him into the cadres of C-list celebrities, the cohesiveness of his fans were even better than lowly-ranked C-list celebrities. Typical C-list celebrities had large number of fans, but the fans lacked cohesion. To put it another way, these fans liked them, but did not like them to the bone. However, Zhang Ye was different. There were people who did not like him or people who did not like any literature, novels, or television programs existed. There were even people who did not know him. However, those who truly liked Zhang Ye liked him to their very bones. Some loved his poems deeply, and there were others who were completely smitten by his talk show. This was his value, the core value that Zhang Ye had which was different from others! Hence, he was worth such spokesperson fees!
Zhang Ye asked courteously, “May I know what the situation is of your company?”
Wu Mo’s eyes flickered as he said, “We sell health supplements. The product’s name is ‘Brain Gold’, made of DHA. It improves the brain’s functions, and is extremely good for the elderly. It promotes longevity and is anti-aging. It also slows down the effects of memory loss and diseases such as Alzheimer’s. It lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, widens blood vessels, and rejuvenates…”
Got it!
It was something that cured a hundred illnesses!
And it’s called Brain Gold? Why did this name sound so familiar?
Zhang Ye found the sales talk unreliable. “Friend, are your products certified?”
Wu Mo apologized. “You can rest assured that they are definitely certified. I got carried away. There’s nothing I can’t tell you. The product is really good, but it’s not so miraculous. It can improve memory and promote good health. That is true. As for the rest…it’s just in principle or theory, and the actual effects might not be too apparent. For example, we add ginseng, and would naturally add the effects that comes from ginseng. However, as the amount we add isn’t in large, it is all just in principle.The medical effectiveness might not be that great, but in the realm of health supplements, it is definitely beneficial to the body without any adverse effects. I can guarantee this with my personal reputation. If not it would not have passed the certifications from relevant authorities, right?” That was the truth.
Zhang Ye nodded. “That’s good then.”
Wu Mo observed Zhang Ye’s expression. “So, do you think we can discuss this matter in detail? It’s best if we can discuss it now as time is tight to produce the commercial. There’s less than two days left.”
Zhang Ye confirmed once again. “Are you sure your health supplements are beneficial to the body?”
Wu Mo immediately responded. “Definitely. Why don’t I give you a few boxes so that your parents can try it. Also, young people can drink it too! It’s beneficial to anyone who uses their brain. If you don’t believe, you can ask my aunt. I bought the authorization to sell the product at a high price a few years ago. Our company has all the relevant certification and documents. I’ll give it to my family monthly too. My parents drink it daily. If you don’t believe me, you can even visit our company at any time.”
Zhang Ye acknowledged. “I believe you. There’s no need to visit. I’ll agree to the endorsement.”
Wu Mo was stunned. He knew from a long time ago that Zhang Ye never wanted to be a spokesperson for a small company. Furthermore, they had not even discussed the exact fees for his services, but he had already decisively agreed to it?
Wu Zeqing noticed this and interrupted. “Teacher Little Zhang, you must give this matter some thought. You don’t have to consider me.”
Zhang Ye chuckled and said, “It’s not because of you. I have never been a spokesperson for any product, and since this Brain Gold seems pretty good, I was tempted.”
Wu Mo was extremely excited. “That’s great! Then that’s too great!”
Everyone could tell that Zhang Ye was clearly giving Wu Zeqing face!
Brain Gold?
What did their company have?
Money? The money they gave was not the highest!
Product? The product was also not the best!
The company’s scale? It completely lacked any scale!
For what reason would Zhang Ye be their company’s spokesperson even though he had never conceded or lowered his standards? He did not even talk about price? It was of course due to Wu Zeqing!
Wu Mo felt utterly relieved. He had finally solved the biggest problem he had. He was extremely confident with Zhang Ye. It was all thanks to his aunt. He was very grateful. Although his aunt said she would not help, they were, after all, relatives. So even if she did not say a word and stood by the side, that was an attitude that spoke volumes. She had her nephew’s interests at heart. However, upon further thought, Wu Mo felt that he had to thank Teacher Zhang Ye. If it was any other Peking University lecturer, it would not have mattered much, but who was Zhang Ye? Who didn’t know Zhang Ye’s position in Peking University? It was an extremely independent one. Furthermore, education was not Zhang Ye’s main job. It did not matter much with or without it. On the contrary, Peking University desperately needed him. Even Nanjing University’s Chinese department attempted to pull him in. Hence, Zhang Ye’s decision was clearly not because he was trying to suck up to Wu Zeqing, as he did not need anything from her. There was no need for him to do so!
With Wu Mo being cognizant of this point, Wu Zeqing was naturally fully aware of this.
