To appease the brand owners and provide an explanation to the angry fans, Huohua Media issued an apology announcement while simultaneously firing Wang Tian.
Wang Tian’s series of botched operations regarding Jiang Ling, coupled with his improper conduct and inappropriate relationship with An Qiuyan, had led his wife, Diao Lili, to storm the company, causing considerable embarrassment. Zheng Yueshan had long wanted to dismiss him and finally found a suitable excuse.
Seeing that Huohua Media had removed the culprit, the fans were no longer inclined to cause trouble.
Following this incident, major companies and brand owners recognized the immense consumer power of men, as demonstrated by Jiang Ling. In today's increasingly saturated female market, figuring out how to shift male consumers from infrequent high-end purchases to frequent low-end purchases had become a major headache for many brand owners.
Currently, the most effective method was leveraging celebrity endorsement for advertising. The blades used by businesses to harvest consumers were specially tailored to target different genders and precisely reap their profits.
Women liked young, attractive idols, so they hired popular celebrities for endorsements, which explained the increasing number of male celebrities endorsing female products in recent years. Aside from personal items like sanitary pads and underwear, even these were now being endorsed by young male stars.
Similarly, men liked beautiful women. To capture their wallets, female celebrities had to be hired. However, men were different from women, not only in their consumption levels and frequency but also in their interests. While women dominated the film and television drama market, men were largely engrossed in gaming. Finding a female celebrity who could genuinely lead the consumption charge and make men willingly purchase endorsed products was as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Jiang Ling was evidently one of those rare individuals. The thought of brand owners clamoring to spend money on endorsements after Jiang Ling’s contract signing, with cash pouring in like a tidal wave, made all the major talent agencies restless.
Miaofeng Film and Television and Feixing Media, who had previously approached Jiang Ling, realized that a golden contract wouldn't win her favor. They quickly convened shareholder meetings to discuss platinum contracts.
The entertainment industry originally had six major film and television giants: Huiyao, Miaofeng, Liuyun, Huohua, Feixing, and another giant called ‘Zhuyue Entertainment’. Last year, the head of this giant had contacted Jiang Ling, wanting her to sign with their company. However, the offered terms were too low, accompanied by numerous unfair clauses, so Jiang Ling dismissed the offer without a second thought.
After being rejected by Jiang Ling, Zhuyue Entertainment seemed to have offended some vengeful entity, as a string of unfortunate events befell them. First, Zhuyue’s top male star, involved in a hit-and-run while drunk, caused the injured party’s death due to delayed medical attention, resulting in a seven-year prison sentence. To reduce his sentence, this man exposed another top male star from the same company, implicating him in unspeakable acts with an inexperienced girl through underhanded means. Consequently, this male top star also ended up in prison. Furthermore, in an effort to secure leniency, the male top star actively provided information and reported the illegal and disciplinary actions of Zhuyue’s artists. Tax evasion, sleeping with fans, and other scandals erupted, pulling out one rotten root after another. In less than a month, half of the foundation Zhuyue Entertainment had built over a decade crumbled. To make matters worse, Zhuyue Entertainment’s boss’s wife discovered her husband’s affair. Not only was he cheating, but the scumbag also had a teenage son with his mistress.