Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Ronald, in addition to Pepsi, there is another agency that wants to add commercials to the 'Top Gun' video, and it also wants you to direct it."

"Oh? Which company is it?" Ronald received a long-distance call from producer Bruckheimer from Hollywood. Since AT\u0026T was split up, telephone companies in each region have operated independently, and the cost of in-room calls and answering machines has dropped a lot. However, the price of long-distance calls rose instead of falling. Ronald often had to talk to multiple people about creative projects, and his monthly phone bill skyrocketed.

"It's not a company, it's the American Navy. They want to add a recruiting advertisement to the video. Because the Navy has strict bidding procedures, bids have been sent to all 4a advertising companies, but they strongly hinted that you are their favorite. As long as you nod your head, you will definitely win the bid."

"Well, okay, if any 4a advertising company wins the bid, let him contact Eddie, the general manager of Daydream Productions."

Two Navy investigators quickly discovered that Ronald's movie portrayed Navy work in a very alluring way.

In addition to pilots who can casually pick up girls, fight MiG pilots, play volleyball on the beach, and fly cool and handsome fighter jets like Tomcats, even ground staff are described by Ronald as good job choices.

Whether dancing to rock music on the aircraft carrier, or the ground crew working in the tower of the base, using radios to communicate with pilots, it is a very desirable job (various scenes of working with engine oil and wrenches under the sun) Ronald didn’t take the photo).

In the second week after the movie was released, the Navy saw inquiries in its recruiting offices increase by more than 300 percent. Pentagon bureaucrats were already worried about the declining number of recruits every year. In order to seize the opportunity, they overcame the red tape of the bureaucracy and quickly opened recruitment points on-site in movie theaters in major cities across the country.

Ever since the Vietnam War made civilian families in America cry for the children who died under the draft system, a major issue in the election has been to change the military conscription system to a military recruitment system. After voters got their wish, the Pentagon quickly discovered that it could no longer recruit soldiers from good middle-class families.

No one wants to serve in the army, be humiliated by instructors, and have the chance to die on the battlefield. Soon, the composition of the army changed drastically. Blacks and other ethnic minorities began to rapidly exceed their respective proportions in the total population and became the largest source of soldiers for the Army.

And the worst of all are the Air Force and Navy. These two services require a large number of people with higher education to serve as high-tech services. However, American society has gradually regarded being a soldier as a hopeless place. The Navy has to serve at sea, away from land and family, surpassing the Air Force and becoming the most difficult service to recruit soldiers.

Originally America's most noble military branch,

The first choice for children of several senators to enlist in the military is now gradually beginning to suffer serious recruiting difficulties.

If you join the army not for honor, but entirely for a job and a way out, the quality of soldiers will soon become worse and worse.

This time "Top Gun" brought an unexpected surprise. Young people soon discovered that being a soldier was not only a job, but also a very "cool" job. The sense of honor and the fact that showing off one's status as a naval pilot when trying to pick up girls makes young people dream of joining the military again.

Ronald soon sensed the trend, and in nightclubs and bars, people began renting navy uniforms and wearing Ray-Ban sunglasses to pick up girls. The boat hats and badges drove the girls crazy, although Ronald guessed many were fake marines.

Going to the nightclub was suggested by the advertising agency hired by Pepsi. Ronald also met an old acquaintance, Darcy Maguire, the original creative director of bbdo.

Eddie, Ronald's original agent in New York, took over the general manager duties of "Daydream Pictures". Pepsi gave a lot of creative freedom and a lot of production costs.

Their only request was for Ronald to use the iconic scene from "Top Gun" to promote Pepsi's latest sugar-free Pepsi.

Along with the huge subsidies for agricultural products and food stamps for the poor, a side effect is that there is a large increase in obesity. Urban residents like to chase fashion, and rich people have begun to exercise in gyms, while the middle class has neither money nor time, and they prefer to find comfort in products.

"Sugar-Free Pepsi" launched by Pepsi-Cola in the 1960s, became popular with consumers again in the mid-1980s.

Pepsi also hired San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana to endorse Sugar-Free Pepsi last year. In addition, they enjoyed the benefits of sponsoring the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, and this time they also sponsored the Lillehammer Winter Olympics.

This time, Tom Cruise showed off his strong figure several times in the movie. Pepsi has always been interested in such a product for young women (Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, etc.), strong and topless, and also dressed very coolly. uniforms), and young men are very interested in movies that have huge appeal (supersonic jets, dogfights, and cool uniforms). The box office performance in the first two weeks also gave them huge confidence.

Pepsi even wanted to star Tom Cruise in a commercial. But this is inconsistent with Paula's idea of ​​a star for Cruise. Pepsi did the next best thing and jumped on the bandwagon and found an actor who looked a lot like Cruise to star in the commercial.

After discussing with the two producers of the film and Paula Wagner, they readily agreed to use the film and star images for advertisements.

Advertising on video tapes will not be broadcast on influential public television stations, but on the other hand, it can increase the film's additional revenue. Neither side has any objection to this.

Ronald wrote the script, which imitated the scene at the beginning of the movie where the Lone Ranger flies upside down above the MiG-28.

He changed the call sign of the actor who looked like Cruise to Mustang, which, like Maverick, means a maverick young man.

During the flight, the sugar-free Coke placed on the drink cup holder was stuck to the cup holder by my companion, making it impossible to take it out and enjoy it. Mustang had no choice but to fly backwards, catch the poured Pepsi in a cup, and drink it all in one gulp.

Ad Ronald didn’t do it himself, he was just in name. He found Kathryn Bigelow, who couldn't find a job, gave her a director's fee, and then found a special effects ring system on the ground built by Cameron to shoot the shots in the cockpit.

Darcy Maguire gave Ronald's plan the green light. Since the two began working together, their careers have advanced by leaps and bounds in their respective industries. Maguire has become a rare female creative vice president in the industry.

Pepsi-Cola is a major customer and spends tens of millions on advertising production every year. Since Ronald agreed, she was happy to let a female director produce it. The end result delights Darcy Maguire, Kathryn Bigelow's camera language is beautiful, and the end result has a comedic feel that parodies "Top Gun."

"Are you satisfied?" Ronald saw the customer nodding and turned back to congratulate Bigelow.

With the reward from this shooting, she can hang out in Hollywood for a long time. There are not many opportunities for female directors to get independent investment.

"You know, the Navy is also now bidding for a 30-second recruitment advertisement, and they also asked me to bid."

"What do they think? It's actually hard to shoot recruitment ads, especially now that the American people have not fully recovered from the psychological trauma of the Vietnam War."

"I didn't submit a plan. In fact, your movie is the best recruitment advertisement. There is no need to submit any more creative ideas."

"Ah? Don't you do business if it comes to your door?"

"You don't understand. This is the best strategy. People in the Navy are very cost-conscious. If I can convince them, they will feel that I sincerely care about them, and there will be no shortage of orders in the future."

"So that's it." Ronald felt that these people understood the psychology of their customers very clearly, and they were worthy of running an advertising agency.

"Actually, this is a good opportunity for you. Pepsi's sponsorship of the Top Gun video this time will definitely cause a surge in sales. I watched Top Gun and it was a phenomenal movie. Now your reputation in the fast-moving consumer goods market It is completely established.

I guess Coca-Cola will want you soon too. Even other giants in the snack industry will want to try their luck on you. The higher your movie's box office is, the more extra Pepsis you'll sell, and the greater your reputation in the advertising industry will be in the future..."

Darcy Maguire described his business prospects to Ronald. Ronald thought it was a good opportunity. His daydream also required more shooting opportunities that were not so demanding, to train technical staff and artistic creative staff. When the opportunity came, he could start shooting low-cost exploitation films. .

Week two, the big Memorial Day weekend is over.

The box office statistics are out. In the second week, when there was basically no increase in the number of theaters, the box office increased instead of decreasing, rising to 10.5 million. The box office of a single theater increased by more than 10%, and the total box office exceeded 22 million.

"Oh..."

This result really shocked Paramount.

Although the box office champion was surpassed by "Cobra" starring Stallone, which was signed by Minahan Golan for more than 10 million yuan, it only ranked second.

But Minahan found Warner Bros. Distribution, and in order to support the first movie of the first superstar he signed, he arranged for it to be released in more than 2,100 cinemas.

Just like that, it's only slightly higher than the weekend box office of "Top Gun."

Ronald used 1,000 theaters and almost tied the box office of others with 2,000 theaters. And it was a first week for Stallone in a second week that usually has a box office decline.

Paramount distribution manager Sid Ganis went crazy and went to president Ned Tanen with a very radical plan. An additional 1,000 copies will be printed, and an additional 500 theaters will be screened in an emergency starting in June. Let the number of screening theaters increase to more than 1,500.

"This is a very feasible plan. We had generously anticipated the appeal of Ronald's movie and the influence of Tom Cruise. But we still underestimated their charm.

The second week's box office can significantly exceed the first week's box office, which shows that the audience this time is those who did not go to the cinema often. This kind of opportunity is rare. We expect that this movie can be screened for a long time and can be launched as a new film in the summer season in June. "

Tanin quickly signed the document and agreed. This Ronald gave him endless surprises.

"The next international premiere will also depend on their international appeal. How do you predict it?" Tanin asked.

"We expect that we will achieve good results in all English-speaking countries, including Britain and Australia. We will also sell well in Japan and South Korea. In addition, we will also make certain progress in Xiangjiang on the other side. The fierce scenes of fighter jets and dog fights do not require Language can also be transmitted.

The charm of McGillis and Cruise can be seen by anyone who is not blind. "

"Thank you for your hard work, guys. They replaced all their hotels with penthouse executive suites. How are the arrangements for the Royal Premiere in Britain?"

"The royal office stated that the princess will attend the premiere, and the queen is also working on it. She will also meet new lord title holders and outstanding representatives of cultural undertakings."

"Very well, keep in touch. If Her Majesty the Queen can come to London for the premiere, we will add a public relations fee to let our boys appear in the British media."

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