Chapter 20

After the Dove chocolate commercial, "Window Display," was first broadcast on CCTV, it was quickly followed by large-scale placements on various local channels.

In addition to television, large posters of the Dove chocolate commercial, featuring the smooth and silky moment, were ubiquitous in densely populated areas such as train stations, squares, subways, and shopping malls. The sweet image of Liu Tao combined with Dove's smoothness "captured" the audience's attention.

Most ordinary people found the commercial to be beautifully crafted and high-end, with Liu Tao's sweet and attractive appearance making it stand out from many other commercials. However, in the eyes of professionals, this commercial had become a case study for many advertising companies, which frequently organized creative personnel to analyze and discuss it.

"The latest Dove commercial does not focus on the physical attributes of chocolate but uses 'jewelry,' 'fashion,' and other life fragments to allow the audience to piece together a 'bourgeois' symbol and a fashionable, beautiful, and poetic space..."

"Overall, it presents a refined and beautiful scene, using emotional appeals combined with various fashion elements and soft, gentle background music to immerse the audience in this combination, providing a psychological and physiological experience and satisfaction."

"The creative idea of the chocolate-colored silk is a refreshing sight. It perfectly interprets Dove's smooth image, almost becoming another incarnation of Dove. After the actress bites into Dove, she closes her eyes in enjoyment, with the silk dancing around her, wrapping around her arms and shoulders, and the final touch with the line 'Dove, Smoothness at This Moment'..."

"Advertising master David Ogilvy once said, 'Don't sell the product, sell the dream.' This Dove commercial is the best interpretation of this idea..."

The commercial received unanimous praise from industry peers, benefiting many people and related organizations.

First, Shengshi benefited from the Dove "Window Display" commercial, reducing the difficulty for Shengshi's business personnel to secure contracts and making Shengshi shine in the Beijing advertising circle, showing signs of revival.

Liu Tao, with her fashionable, lively, and sweet image in the commercial, and the extensive advertising promotion by Aifeng Company, earned the title of "Dove Girl," gaining a small but significant popularity. Various advertising invitations poured in, and her naturally slender figure was favored by clothing brands. She was currently shooting a clothing advertisement for a top Chinese brand.

Xiang Xiaoxing was also very busy, temporarily taking on the role of Liu Tao's agent, screening various advertising contracts, looking for opportunities to personally shoot ads, and even directing the director when there were no opportunities, to maintain her presence.

Zhang Xiaoquan's treatment was much better than Xiang Xiaoxing's. Gu Hongzhou was impressed by his photography skills, and Zhang Xiaoquan almost monopolized the role of photographer for Shengshi's important commercials. He spent five days a week at Shengshi with the company's makeup artists and stylists.

After Deng Chao was promoted to business manager, he was extremely busy. Xiang Xiaoxing was often not in the company, and Mai Xiaoyu rarely asked about the details, so the business responsibilities fell largely on his shoulders. He had to discover new talent, recommend members, arrange auditions and shoots, and manage the company's website, effectively becoming the big manager of Mengren.

The impact of the new Dove commercial on Dove's sales was unknown to outsiders. However, not long after the commercial aired, Aifeng specially contacted Mai Xiaoyu, adding 500,000 yuan to the creative fee and signing a supplementary agreement stipulating that Mai Xiaoyu could not provide creative planning for competitors' ads.

In return, Aifeng explicitly noted in the agreement that Mengren Film & TV would have priority for all future Aifeng product commercials. They also sent several boxes of Dove chocolate and more Snickers bars.

The Aifeng advertising department manager hinted to Mai Xiaoyu that the company planned to shoot a new Snickers commercial soon and hoped that Mai Xiaoyu would taste more Snickers to help him come up with new ideas. As a result, everyone at Mengren Film & TV received piles of Dove chocolate and Snickers bars, much to the envy of neighboring companies.

In this nationwide Dove advertising storm, Mengren Film & TV shone in the advertising industry. For the audience watching TV, no one liked watching ads, and even fewer cared who shot them.

This aligned with Mai Xiaoyu's principle: to keep a low profile and enjoy the benefits. This time, the benefits were substantial.

The 2 million yuan creative fee exceeded the total earnings from all previous scams by the Mai Family Deception Group. Xiang Xiaoxing and Zhang Xiaoquan each received 200,000 yuan, while the remaining 1.6 million yuan went to Mai Xiaoyu.

The significant disparity in distribution did not bother Xiang and Zhang, as the Mengren Big 3 always followed the 8-1-1 distribution rule. After each successful scam, Xiang Xiaoxing and Zhang Xiaoquan each received 10%, while Mai Xiaoyu took 80%.

Even the 200,000 yuan felt hot in their hands, as they had not contributed to the creative process of the commercial and had only received payment for the shoot.

More importantly, the shooting of the Dove commercial reignited their former dreams. The small sense of achievement from the successful shoot was priceless. They hoped the company would reform and genuinely enter the entertainment industry, rather than continue to be scammers.

Therefore, each of them contributed 100,000 yuan to the company's cash flow, and after a moment's hesitation, Mai Xiaoyu also contributed 100,000 yuan.

With the matter settled, the 1.5 million yuan in hand did not stay warm for long. Soon, Mai Xiaoyu transferred 1.3 million yuan to an account named "Wu Guodong."

After the transfer was successful, he found a new SIM card and inserted it into his phone, sending a text message: "1.3 million, please check."

Just as he was about to remove the SIM card and flush it down the toilet, his phone rang with a text message.

"Song Ma's condition has worsened. Meet me at the Forgotten Bar in Houhai."

...

7:30 PM.

Houhai, Forgotten Bar.

The bar was not large, with a carefully decorated retro style. The dim lighting created a lazy and melancholic atmosphere.

It was still early, and there were not many customers, scattered in various corners. On the small stage, a young man with a distinctive appearance was singing a melancholic love song with deep emotion.

Mai Xiaoyu chose a corner booth, ordered a 688 yuan drink package, and twice rejected the advances of women, drinking alone as he waited for Wu Guodong to appear.

Song Ma's condition has worsened?

How bad is it?

Is it serious?

What's the current situation?

After three years of scamming to raise the high medical fees for Song Ma, today Wu Guodong told him that Song Ma's condition had worsened...

Bottle after bottle of alcohol was consumed, and worry piled up in his mind.

The young singer finished his song, and scattered applause came from the audience. A new singer stepped onto the stage.

This was a delicate and graceful girl with clear, innocent eyes. She walked onto the stage with poise, and before she even opened her mouth, a chorus of boos erupted from the audience.

"Boo—It's you again!"

"You sing terribly!"

"Get off the stage!"

The audience's words were hurtful, but the girl did not back down.

She stood straight, her eyes filled with determination, and with a slightly immature voice, she sang a gentle and heartwarming folk song with all her heart.

She sang beautifully, but the audience was not impressed and continued to boo, demanding that she leave the stage.

Mai Xiaoyu's eyes widened, and he stared at the girl on stage, muttering, "Lili..."

The boos, jeers, and insults grew louder, making Mai Xiaoyu's anger boil.

"Waiter, thirty flower baskets, twenty wreaths, ten crowns, bring them up quickly!"