Chapter 47: 047 A Leap to Fame

Chapter 47: 047 A Leap to Fame

"...It's just a shampoo endorsement, is it really necessary to put on such a show? Do they really think Xie Qingyang would care about a brand like Z?"

"LMAO, Xie Qingyang was the first to wear a luxury men's fashion brand globally and the only domestic celebrity invited to Paris Fashion Week. If Lu Xu wants to compete with Xie Qingyang, he should at least wear haute couture first."

"Which luxury men's fashion brand would be blind enough to pick Lu Xu? They must be crazy."

In the comments section of Z brand's advertisement, fans clamoring for Lu Xu to shoot more ads are almost at war with Xie Qingyang's fans. Xie Qingyang's fans didn't mean to clash with Lu Xu's fans, but they couldn't believe that Z brand would choose the latter over Xie Qingyang.

"Is this another fake rumor to boost Lu Xu's status?"

"...Well, then I hope Lu Xu's shampoo sells well. After all, Lu Xu can only sell shampoo. What luxury brand would even consider him?"

This comment was not liked by Xie Qingyang himself, but it was liked by his agent. Although the like was quickly removed, it didn't escape the eyes of netizens.

Netizens have stated that to make it big in Ling Ge Entertainment, one must master the advanced technique of 'accidental likes' and have the rich experience of being hacked N times a year.

...

For Z brand, the rumors spread by marketers turned out to be a good thing.

Z brand's new product was originally unknown, but after the fans of Lu Xu and Xie Qingyang caused a stir, the influence of the new product slowly spread.

First, the shampoo advertisement shot by Lu Xu made it to the hot search list. The promotional power of a handsome guy is truly astonishing. Z brand's advertising department quickly got the data—the views and shares of this shampoo advertisement are the highest in the men's shampoo category.

In the comments section of Z brand's official blog, many fans have switched their profile pictures to the photo of Lu Xu with wet hair.

The first to realize the advertising effect was Z brand's online flagship store.

The online sales competition in the daily chemical market is quite fierce. Although Z brand is an old brand, it can't compete with large multinational companies in the daily chemical category. Z brand specializes in shampoo, while multinational companies can bundle daily chemical products of the same brand. Consumers usually tend to buy various products to get greater discounts.

In Z brand's online flagship store, the top-selling product is the brand's flagship shampoo, which has been popular for more than ten years and has always been far ahead in sales. As for the new men's shampoo, it ranks second to last or third from the bottom among the store's products.

The data changed the moment the endorsement advertisement went online.

Almost at the same time as the announcement of Lu Xu as the endorser, the new product received its first order of the day.

After that, the number of orders skyrocketed, and the set outsold the single product.

"Does the set come with photos?"

"Please help me modify the order. I made a mistake. I want to buy the set."

"How many photos are included?"

The line "the set comes with photos" on the product sales picture was originally printed very small. When the Nth customer asked about the photos, the store's designer quickly stepped in and made the font size super bold to ensure that every consumer could see it.

The staff of the online store can confirm that after changing to the super bold font size, the sales growth rate of the new product accelerated again.

For daily chemical brands, there is a situation where sales skyrocket after a celebrity endorsement. Fans always have unlimited consumption enthusiasm, especially for rising stars, whose ability to drive sales is the strongest.

The new product with 100,000+ stock in the online store was sold out in a few hours.

Z brand originally thought this was the end, but the turning point came from the first batch of consumers who received the shampoo.

After all, they got Lu Xu's photos, so fans naturally wanted to show them off.

"Beautiful!!! Wow, a fresh-faced puppy!"

"Lu Xu's modern look is exclusive to Yu Wei; his vibe in the ad is completely different from Yu Wei's, incredibly handsome! I love the wet hair photos; I could look at them a hundred times!"

"A sunny, warm, fluffy little puppy! Absolutely adorable!"

"...How come I got a different photo?"

"I was hoping for the wet hair photo but ended up with the soft-haired hunk!"

"...Z brand, you're really sneaky."

As more people posted their photos, fans realized that Z brand was giving different photos to consumers who bought the sets!

Each photo was beautifully shot from different angles, with the changing light and shadows outside the window, Lu Xu's face revealed different charms in the light and shadow.

The wet hair look not only accentuated his sexy Adam's apple but also showcased his well-defined knuckles.

His blow-dried hair was soft and fluffy, and Lu Xu's starry eyes in the lens were equally mesmerizing.

"What does this mean? Am I supposed to buy shampoo for the rest of my life?"

"So sneaky, so sneaky, so sneaky!"

"Is it just me who's into Lu puppy's white shirt?"

"Me too..."

"Quietly adding a +1, let me know if you figure out the brand."

Realizing there was more than one photo, fans started exchanging the photos they wanted, but because this set of photos was so beautifully taken, many fans chose to buy them all.

The problem was—Z brand's online store was out of stock.

Fans then switched to offline supermarkets, where the arrival speed was even faster than online stores, and they could also eye the posters tucked away in the supermarket corners.

Bold fans even straight-up asked if they could take the display stands with Lu Xu's posters once the shampoo sold out.

After getting a positive answer, outgoing fans lugged the display stands home, laughing the whole way.

Driven by these extroverts, display stands in major supermarkets were cleaned out.

Though some quietly criticized, calling this fan behavior a waste of resources and Z brand's promotional tactics lowbrow.

Fans: "...Fans of someone selling a small card for tens of bucks, criticizing a brand that sells shampoo for tens of bucks, buy one get one free, and throws in a handsome photo from every angle?"

"Shampoo is always useful, thank you very much."

"Even if this is buying photos with free shampoo, at least it's free shampoo! And it's Z brand, what else could you ask for?"

In short, Z brand's online store's restocks kept getting snapped up by fans.

Of course, this sales surge didn't just benefit Z brand but also the brand of the white shirt Lu Xu sported.

Fans quickly pinpointed the white shirt's brand as G brand, an Italian men's clothing label.

The shirt wasn't Lu Xu's personal attire; it was chosen from the designer's pre-shoot proposal and provided by Z brand. Lu Xu tried it on and found it suitable, so it was used directly in the shoot.

This shirt sold out within 24 hours after Lu Xu's shampoo ad was released.

With the same white shirt out of stock, fans flocked to other styles from the same brand and kept buying them out.

"Because it really looks amazing!"

"Rocking a white shirt, looking like a total hottie."

"The kind of hottie who wears his belt over his pants?"

"OMG, shut up, you upstairs, ahhhh!"

Long story short, without Lu Xu even knowing, he massively boosted sales for a luxury men's shirt brand.

Then, one morning, Lu Xu's Weibo was reposted by G brand.

"Actor Lu Xu models the brand's 202X fall/winter collection in an ad shoot, with elegant tailoring highlighting versatile styles."

"Catching a whiff of opportunity, maybe?"

"It works, really works. Lu Xu is hands down the young male star who can best showcase G brand's men's wear."

"Totally can!"

"The men's line needs more hot guys—let's make it happen ASAP."

When Xie Qingyang saw the repost, he was speechless: "..."

He'd been following G brand on Weibo for over a year, too.

Luxury men's brands usually steer clear of giving idol titles. At Verse's peak, G brand didn't offer any clothing sponsorships to the four members—no group deals, let alone solo ones.

After Verse disbanded, Xie Qingyang had been pushing Ling Ge Entertainment to land him a collaboration with G brand—even a branch ambassador title would've made him happy.

But G brand had always been pretty standoffish. Xie Qingyang figured the waiting period was long enough, but the brand still ignored him.

He'd assumed G brand treated all Verse members the same—not just him. Even Meng Qin, who was deep in the fashion scene, got pretty average treatment from G brand.

But when he saw G brand's repost, Xie Qingyang was fuming and didn't know how to let it out.

Just one ad, and G brand jumped to repost it?

Is it just because Lu Xu's an actor?

Or is it because Lu Xu rocks a white shirt better?

Of course, Xie Qingyang refused to accept the last reason—it was easier to admit Lu Xu got special treatment for being an actor.

His fans had been trashing Lu Xu's shampoo endorsement for poor sales, but when Z brand's new product flew off the shelves, they all shut up.

Xie Qingyang had once endorsed a unisex shampoo.

But even after Verse disbanded and Xie Qingyang racked up a ton of sympathy fans, his sales still couldn't top Lu Xu's.

He could handle Lu Xu driving sales—he could even laugh at Lu Xu's fans for splurging—but G brand actively @ing Lu Xu was too much.

Lu Xu only starred in two dramas, 'The Son of Heaven' and 'The Supreme.' Was that really enough for the brand to fawn over him?

Later that afternoon, Xie Qingyang discovered the real reason G brand @ed Lu Xu.

G brand was always on his radar, so he caught their moves right away.

The @ on the homepage was too conspicuous, he didn't notice the news of "Starlight Award Nomination List Announced" topping the hot search list today, or perhaps he noticed, but didn't click to see.

The Starlight Award is the biggest deal in the Chinese television industry, with nominations being notoriously difficult to secure, usually reserved for the crème de la crème of actors.

Though they share the same entertainment industry, variety show idols are light-years away from the TV drama heavyweights. The Starlight Award isn’t even on Xie Qingyang’s radar.

But this year, the Starlight Award suddenly crossed paths with him.

His agent texted him on WeChat: "Lu Xu has been nominated for the Starlight Award."

Eight short words, yet Xie Qingyang read it five times. After what felt like forever, he finally typed out: "Best Supporting Actor, right?"

"Yes."

No wonder Lu Xu skipped all of G brand’s events and even wore a shirt from another brand during a shoot, yet G brand still came running after him.

The Starlight Award’s clout is a big deal in the industry.

Lu Xu’s about to hit the big time.

The top comment on his Weibo is still: "What luxury brand in their right mind would go for Lu Xu?"

G brand must be out of their mind.