HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 244 [244] Pepsi and Coca-Cola vie for Qi Yuan, breaking domestic record for endorsement fee!
Upon returning to Beijing, Qi Yuan immediately began recording songs and filming Pepsi promotional commercials.

This advertisement was designed by professionals hired by Pepsi and consists of two scenes.

In the first scene, Qi Yuan, wearing blue pants and a white shirt, is dancing with several people.

In another scene, Qi Yuan is wearing a blue and white jersey and playing soccer with his teammates.

Pepsi has spent so much money sponsoring football leagues, so this ad is definitely going to capitalize on the popularity of football.

The ending features Qi Yuan leaping up and shooting a goal, a very cool and exciting scene.

The football league and Pepsi logo appear at the end, with the tagline "Infinite Desire, Exciting Football".

Pepsi has always had a great sense of aesthetics and is willing to spend money on it.

After the advertisement was launched, Pepsi's influence and sales in China continued to rise, and its market share reached a new peak of 45%.

In the domestic cola market, Pepsi almost dominates half of the market, while Coca-Cola shares the remaining half with other cola brands.

In its previous life, Pepsi's highest market share in China was 35%, also in 2000.

After more than a year of cooperation, Pepsi has witnessed just how formidable Qi Yuan's influence is in the Chinese market.

After Qi Yuan became a Pepsi superstar, Pepsi's sales increased even more dramatically than when Aaron Kwok was the leading actor.

Pepsi's on-the-ground promotions, sales channels, television commercials, and city posters also helped Qi Yuan increase his popularity among the public.

With just over six months left before the contract expires, Pepsi has proposed to renew the contract with Qi Yuan, raising the price to 14 million.

This news shocked not only the mainland entertainment industry, but also the Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment industries.

Ten million is an endorsement fee that only a few top stars in Hong Kong and Taiwan can earn, such as Andy Lau.

Fourteen million really breaks the record for a single brand endorsement in China. Apart from international superstars like Jackie Chan and Li Lianjie who have gained international recognition, Qi Yuan has already reached the pinnacle of endorsement in China, almost like a lone wolf.

The news that Pepsi offered an exorbitant renewal fee was already shocking enough.

A few days later, even more shocking news broke.

Coca-Cola poached Qi Yuan, and seeing Pepsi's success in China, they also want to follow the trend in the entertainment industry.

It is rumored that Coca-Cola offered a higher price than Pepsi.

This is Coca-Cola's strategy of embracing superstars, the first superstar signed since the millennium, and Coca-Cola executives attach great importance to it.

Previously, Coca-Cola relied on being the world's oldest cola brand, possessing history and brand heritage, and was always one step behind Pepsi in adopting new marketing and promotional methods.

The same was true after Pepsi entered the Chinese market. As soon as it entered, it hired big-name celebrities such as Zhang Guorong and Andy Lau as spokespeople, targeting the younger generation. It also actively sponsored music and sports events to expand its influence, and completely crushed Coca-Cola in China.

After news broke that Coca-Cola had poached Qi Yuan, the statements from Coca-Cola executives were intriguing. They stated that they had indeed been in contact with Qi Yuan's team.

Pepsi did not respond.

StarWish Studio also remained silent.

[Breaking News! Superstar Qi Yuan is in high demand; Pepsi and Coca-Cola vie for his attention]

The accompanying image is quite interesting; Qi Yuan in the middle is being pulled by two forces of different colors, red and blue.

This article mentions how quickly Pepsi's market share increased after Qi Yuan became Pepsi's spokesperson.

To say that all the credit goes to Qi Yuan is certainly not objective.

It is widely acknowledged that Qi Yuan played a significant role, and even Pepsi cannot deny his contribution.

Over the past year, Qi Yuan has continuously generated buzz for Pepsi with album releases, concerts, movie premieres, and TV series broadcasts, playing a crucial role in boosting Pepsi's sales.

Pepsi offered a record-breaking 14 million yuan to retain Qi Yuan, setting a new endorsement fee record in China. Whether Qi Yuan will stay with her old company or embrace a new one remains to be seen, with Star Wish Studio yet to respond.

This battle for Pepsi and Coca-Cola's spokespeople gradually evolved into a major war between Pepsi supporters and Coca-Cola supporters.

There are Pepsi fans and Coca-Cola fans abroad, and there are also fans in China.

Coca-Cola fans believe that Coca-Cola has a long history, represents the authentic cola, has an unbeatable fizzy texture, and a moderate sweetness, making it the refreshing and genuine cola.

Pepsi fans believe Pepsi is sweeter and has a smoother taste, which suits modern palates, while Coca-Cola sticks to its old recipe—a classic to put it nicely, but outdated to put it bluntly. Moreover, Coca-Cola changed its classic recipe in 85, which angered longtime fans.

The Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi debate is similar to the sweet vs. savory tofu pudding debate in China; it's a never-ending battle, and most likely, no winner will emerge.

Coca-Cola will always be the only legitimate cola. As a Coca-Cola enthusiast and a fan of Qi Yuan, I wholeheartedly support Qi Yuan joining the Coca-Cola camp.

I just took a sip of Pepsi, and Pepsi is truly amazing; the first sip was so refreshing!

There were also neutral netizens who were indifferent to the comments.

I drink both, but I'm not good with palates and can't tell the difference.

What's there to argue about? Adding carbonation to Pepsi makes it the Coca-Cola recipe, and adding sugar to Coca-Cola makes it the Pepsi recipe.

……

The battle for Coca-Cola and Pepsi's spokesperson, the Coca-Cola Party versus the Pepsi Party, both battles involved Qi Yuan's name.

Qi Yuan thus gained a wave of free publicity and became the subject of discussion.

There's also good news in the television industry.

The highest viewership rating for "Swordsman" exceeded 25.1% ten days after its broadcast, with an average viewership rating exceeding 11.3% and a market share of 30%.

"The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" officially became a nationwide hit TV series, becoming the highest-rated show from 2000 to the present day.

Taking advantage of the situation, Zhang Dahuzi intensified his marketing efforts, asking the media to praise "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" as the best martial arts drama of 2000.

Actresses such as Xu Qing, Gao Yuanyuan, and Fan Xiaopang began to gain popularity.

Xu Qing undoubtedly benefited the most. At first, the media and audience questioned whether she was old enough to play Ren Yingying, but it turned out that Xu Qing played the role very well.

Gao Yuanyuan plays Yue Lingshan, the second female lead. This character is a bit pretentious and not very likable. Gao Yuanyuan gained a wave of fans because of her looks, but there were also quite a few viewers who criticized Yue Lingshan.

Fan Xiaopang's portrayal of Lan Fenghuang has fewer scenes, but she is even more beautiful than during her Jin Suo period, and her good looks and likable character have boosted her popularity.

Whether it was malicious stirring up trouble by the media or not, one entertainment newspaper commented on Fan Xiaopang in this way.

[Jin Suo plays a maid again, her good looks are the biggest highlight]

Lan Fenghuang is a staunch supporter of the Chong-Ying couple in the TV series. She is not a maid, but at most a subordinate or follower.

To generate buzz, the media claimed that Fan Bingbing had played a maid again.

What's even more infuriating is that when those media outlets mentioned Fan Xiaopang, they also brought up the other two beauties from the "Princess Pearl" trio to compare with him.

In terms of career, Fan Xiaopang is currently lagging behind the other two.

The media has also dug up the comment that Qiong Yao made about Fan Xiaopang.

A maid will always be a maid; Fan Binbin is destined to play maid roles.

Fan Xiaopang gritted his teeth in hatred, his hands trembling.

You're the maid! Your whole family are maids!

(End of this chapter)