HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 292 [292] Volkswagen Endorsement: Qi Yuan Enters the Mid-to-High-End Market
Qi Yuan remembered that in her previous life, Chen Kaige spent two years writing the script for "The Promise".

So even if it really is "The Promise," it will be at least two years from now.

A lot can happen in two years, and many new changes can occur.

If Qi Yuan's foray into the Western music scene goes smoothly, he might release his second English album in two years.

If he really doesn't want to film, he can just hide in the US and say he'll be back in China next week.

Can Chen Kaige go to the United States and bring him back?

Of course, Qi Yuan wouldn't do that.

Chen Kaige has always been very loyal; he couldn't be unloyal.

Despite how bad "The Promise" was, it didn't have much impact on Qi Yuan personally.

An actor's job is simply to play their role well.

As long as the acting isn't terrible, even if the movie is bad, people will blame the director and screenwriter, not the actors.

The biggest problem with this film is that it shattered Chen Kaige's reputation as a great director; Chen Kaige is the one who lost out the most.

Before "The Promise" was made, even if Zhang Yingmou had made "Hero", not many people would have thought that Zhang Yingmou was better than Chen Kaige.

Chen Kaige has a Palme d'Or in his hands, and people have a bias against him. They believe that as long as he puts in the effort, he can definitely make a film that rivals or even surpasses "Hero".

The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

The whole nation was looking forward to Chen Kaige delivering a perfect performance, but he made a huge mistake, which was quite embarrassing.

This wave of casualties allowed the national advisor to surpass him and gradually become recognized as the number one director in China.

However, during his conversation with Chen Kaige, Qi Yuan discovered that what Chen Kaige was talking about was very different from the movie "The Promise" from his previous life. He wondered if the butterfly effect had caused this.

In short, Qi Yuan decided to take it one step at a time.

Let's see if "Bouquet" can win an award in Tokyo at the end of the year, and then see how well it performs at the box office after its release.

If the film achieves both awards and box office success, it will prove Qi Yuan's screenwriting ability. Then we can try to persuade Chen Kaige.

If it can be saved, try to save it; if it can't, there's nothing that can be done.

After discussing the new movie, Qi Yuan gave Chen Kaige the four new songs that he had finished producing.

That's why he came here today.

He recorded the new song in Taiwan and needs to bring it back to the post-production team.

Qi Yuan reminded: "Three English songs and one Japanese song. The English songs don't matter, they can be used both domestically and internationally. The Japanese song is only for the Japanese version, and the domestic version can be replaced with a song I sang before."

Adapting to local conditions is a common practice.

Li An's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" uses a Chinese theme song domestically and an English theme song internationally.

Chen Kaige's eyes lit up instantly: "An English song, that's interesting."

Chen Kaige has studied and worked abroad, and his English level is considered quite high in the entertainment industry, easily surpassing many celebrities who claim to be good at English.

Similarly, he also really likes English songs.

Later, for the ending theme of "The Legend of the Demon Cat", he used an English song called "The Last Deal" written by a Japanese band.

Chen Kaige enthusiastically said, "More than ten years ago, I went to New York University's film department for further studies. During that time, I listened to a lot of English songs. Let me hear what you think of your original English songs."

The music started playing.

"You're Beautiful," "Baby," "Free Loop," and "Riding on the Back of a Silver Dragon"

Chen Kaige listened to all four songs from beginning to end. Except for "Baby," which he didn't quite get, the other three songs deeply amazed him.

While listening to the song, he already had images in his mind.

The male and female protagonists meet after missing the last train and share a pair of headphones to listen to music in a coffee shop.

Use the song "You're Beautiful" in this scene.

'You are so beautiful, so beautiful, you are naturally beautiful, it's true. I saw your face in the vast sea of ​​people, but I was at a loss for words.'

The imagery paired with these lyrics creates an overwhelming sense of romance.

In the final breakup scene, the male and female protagonists return to the restaurant where they first met four years later, and they tell each other that they want to break up.

"Free Loop" appeared as an interlude, its subtle melancholy perfectly fitting the occasion.

“Ah Yuan, I didn’t misjudge you. You are a true genius. I can’t hear a single trace of Chinese flavor in your English songs. This is a compliment, and you should understand what I mean.”

Chen Kaige greatly appreciated it.

A great film paired with a catchy theme song—he could almost picture the film winning a major award at the Tokyo International Film Festival, and also its box office success after its release.

Furthermore, Qi Yuan's English songs are very authentic, pure European and American, which may really open up the European and American markets.

He is planning a big-budget film that will be released overseas in the future, and Qi hopes to gain recognition in Europe and America, which would be of great benefit to his film.

Zhang Yingmou went to great lengths to invite Ken Takakura and Li Lianjie, wasn't it all for the overseas market? Foreign audiences don't recognize Zhang Yingmou, they recognize Li Lianjie.

Qi Yuan watched the editor work on the film for a long time before leaving.

Li Xue brought Qi Yuan some good news: "Volkswagen wants to hire you as their brand ambassador, offering 3000 million yuan for four years."

A car spokesperson and a brand spokesperson are different.

A single car endorsement focuses on a specific model or series, resulting in a relatively narrow scope.

A brand ambassador represents the entire automotive brand, covering all product lines, and promotes the brand's overall image and core values.

Generally speaking, single-car endorsement collaborations are mostly short-term; once the promotional task for the designated car model is completed, the collaboration ends.

Brand ambassadors typically have long-term partnerships and are deeply involved in brand activities, such as appearing in advertising shoots and brand launch events.

The latter's endorsement fee is much higher than the former's.

Automobiles are high-value durable consumer goods.

To become a brand ambassador for a car company, one needs to possess a good image, reputation, strength, audience reach, and development potential.
The same logic applies to later high-end car brands, such as Land Rover choosing Wang Shi and Mercedes-Benz choosing Gong Li.

The more high-end the product, the more powerful and sophisticated the spokesperson must be.

Previously, the brands that offered prayers were all daily consumer goods such as purified water, cola, and shampoo, with the most high-end being Wuliangye.

This isn't the first time a car company has asked Qi Yuan to be their spokesperson. Previously, a car manufacturer had asked her to be their brand ambassador, but the manufacturer's products weren't very good, and her endorsement could negatively impact her image, so Qi Yuan declined.

Volkswagen as a brand ambassador is something that can be seriously considered. Volkswagen is known for its high quality and reliability, and its Santana and Jetta models currently on sale have a very good reputation in China and are widely recognized by the public.

Volkswagen's endorsement fee per year may not be as high as Coca-Cola's, but cars are luxury items these days, which can enhance Qi Yuan's image and status, and that's very important.

Accepting Volkswagen's endorsement proves that Qi Yuan has officially gained recognition from mid-to-high-end brands, which is a very good start.

Furthermore, since Volkswagen has chosen Qi Yuan as their brand ambassador, wouldn't "Free Loop" finally have a chance to shine?

This is a hit song from car commercials; Ford can use it, and Volkswagen certainly can too.

(End of this chapter)