Chapter 44: Publicity by Provocation (Commonly Known as Controversy Marketing)

The trailer for Mr. Vampire was very short, lasting less than two minutes.

Yet, it managed to fill Wang Guang with immense anticipation for this new web movie.

In fact, he was not the only one. Many netizens who watched the trailer found themselves looking forward to the film.

"Can someone explain to me why people born in the Year of the Rooster and the Year of the Dog have to turn around and look away?"

"It seems to mean that the rooster and the dog belong to the six harmful zodiac signs, so they must be in conflict, right? But when my grandfather passed away, I remember my cousin born in the Year of the Tiger had to look away. Anyway, there are a lot of traditional taboos."

"And what about the incense sticks? The most taboo thing is two short ones and one long one. What's the story behind that?"

"That's simple. Whose incense would burn down like that? Just looking at it gives me the creeps!"

"There are actually real zombies in this movie, and they are obviously completely different from the ones in past movies!"

"I've seen zombies in Qing Dynasty official uniforms before, but I'm seeing one this fierce for the very first time!"

"The trailer is short, but it's amazing and reveals quite a lot."

"There's definitely more to this movie than meets the eye. Doesn't everyone think the Taoist priest looks extremely badass?"

"Yes, yes! The few scenes he appeared in totally gave off the vibe of a truly enlightened master."

"I am inexplicably excited for this!"

"Seriously, why do we still have to wait? If outsiders found out, they'd think we were too poor to even afford five yuan!"

"Exactly, release it already! Just based on this trailer, I'm definitely spending my five yuan!"

"By the way, why do people turn into zombies in the first place?"

"I'm curious too! Now that you mention it, this movie is genuinely worth looking forward to!"

A growing number of netizens had their curiosity piqued by the trailer, which thrilled the staff at several video streaming platforms.

Within just a few short days, the trailer for Mr. Vampire garnered over five million views across the three major video platforms, accompanied by six-digit comment counts in the threads below.

The vast majority of people expressed high expectations for this web movie.

For a moment, nobody was discussing the controversial topic of paid internet streaming anymore.

To put it bluntly, audiences were not actually reluctant to spend money. Rather, so many films were shoddily made, treating viewers like complete fools, that naturally, people were unwilling to waste their hard-earned cash on such garbage.

Mr. Vampire and the concept of web movies as a whole officially broke into the mainstream.

After all, millions of views, even for a single video, were enough to make it viral.

This was not an era from the distant future where billions or tens of billions of views were commonplace. Even in later times, several million genuine views were certainly no small feat.

Seizing the momentum, the video platforms immediately struck while the iron was hot and increased their promotional resource investments.

External media outlets also began reporting related news one after another.

"Trailer for the first web movie surpasses ten million views in a week. Has the era of web movies finally arrived?"

"The three major video websites join hands to build an internet cinema line, winning the recognition of tens of millions of netizens!"

"With the theatrical movie market in a slump, can web movies become the key to breaking the deadlock?"

"What kind of impact will web movies have on theatrical releases? Let us wait and see!"

The coverage from numerous media outlets further escalated public attention toward web movies and Mr. Vampire.

Seeing the initial phase of promotion taking effect, Chen Mo and the video platforms had incorporated a strategy of deliberate controversy and association into their marketing plan. As for who to target, naturally, they would cast a wide net and catch plenty of fish, grabbing onto anyone they could.

There was no helping it; web movies were a novel concept after all. To garner more attention and capture greater traffic, this was arguably the best and most cost-effective method!

This particular controversy-driven marketing campaign primarily targeted several popular stars and upcoming theatrical releases.

The success Mr. Vampire could achieve concerned not only Chen Mo's interests but also those of the three major video platforms.

Having watched the completed cut of Mr. Vampire, they had been utterly blown away. They believed that the only reason this film bypassed domestic theatrical release was due to censorship hurdles; otherwise, putting it straight into regular cinemas would have been completely viable. Consequently, their confidence ran even higher.

Thus, each platform sprang into action. Sohu, possessing its own web portal and a large team of entertainment journalists and editors, deployed its personnel into the field immediately.

They began launching targeted interview campaigns aimed at actors, stars, and film directors, particularly those whose movies were about to hit theaters and were currently undergoing promotional tours.

Actors and stars naturally wouldn't make overly harsh remarks about this. After all, web movies were a fresh medium they were unfamiliar with, but cinema was still cinema at its core.

Furthermore, this web cinema line project was a collaborative effort built by the three major video platforms. Therefore, most of their attitudes were diplomatic: "We don't know much about web movies, but if the script is good enough, we'd still be willing to star in them!"

"As long as there's a suitable role, it's fine. Web movies? I'm looking forward to them, but I don't know enough to comment."

However, compared to the actors and stars, the directors of the current mainstream film circle held a completely different attitude.

Domestic commercial film directors were still relatively few at the time, and the mainstream was still dominated by the fifth and sixth-generation directors.

Most of these directors during this era still held a rather aloof and elitist attitude.

"Films are born for the big screen. A small screen is no different from television movies, is it?"

"Web movies? Replacing theatrical releases? Are you joking? Impossible, absolutely impossible."

"Web movies, you call those films? Just watch them for amusement and leave it at that."

These remarks were still considered relatively mild.

Domestically renowned director Chen Shiren, who was currently promoting his new film The Orphan of Zhao, was intercepted by an entertainment reporter dispatched by Sohu Entertainment during a promotional event. The reporter asked, "Director Chen, what are your thoughts on the web movie cinema line launched by the three major video websites and the first web movie Mr. Vampire, which has become a hit online before even airing?"

"Web movies? What are those? Can films that aren't projected on a big theater screen even be called movies?" Director Chen asked disdainfully.

"Mr. Vampire? You can tell just by the title that it's yet another shoddily made piece meant to fool some netizens. As for being a hit before airing? Pure hype!" Director Chen added.

He was genuinely disdainful, and he possessed the qualifications to be so. After all, he was an internationally acclaimed master director and the only Chinese director to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival!

Originally, the Sohu entertainment reporter had merely adopted a hit-or-miss mentality. After all, so many people had already been questioned, so one more director wouldn't hurt. To his surprise, Director Chen delivered a heavy blow. The Sohu reporter clearly knew how to fan the flames.

Seeing Director Chen's disdainful attitude, the reporter instantly grew excited and pressed on: "Director Chen hasn't even watched Mr. Vampire, yet you call it shoddy. Isn't that a bit premature? Could it be solely because it's being released online?"

The reporter was truly cunning and black-hearted, intentionally bringing up the topic of online release. Director Chen happened to be somewhat allergic to the internet, considering how thoroughly he had been triggered back then by An Murder Caused by a Steamed Bun.

At the time, he had gone on a furious rampage, threatening legal action while publicly berating Hu Ge, declaring that "a person cannot be shameless to this extent."

Unfortunately, the ultimate outcome was that netizens adapted that exact phrase and threw it right back at Director Chen: "A person cannot be too much like Director Chen."

Some netizens even jested that as a public figure, how could Director Chen be as fragile and unable to withstand the slightest breath of wind as Lin Daiyu?

Yet the reporter refused to let go, instantly making Director Chen's blood boil with rage.

Sure enough, Director Chen retorted, "Nowadays, any stray cat or dog dares to run off and make movies. Alright, today is the press conference for The Orphan of Zhao. If you want to watch a film, go to the cinema to see my new movie The Orphan of Zhao, and stop trying to latch onto it with this messy garbage."

Director Chen's words left the entertainment reporters brimming with excitement.

Before long, Director Chen's remarks were published verbatim across the internet by various media outlets.

The goal had been to court controversy from the very beginning, and since Director Chen played along so willingly, Chen Mo and the video platforms naturally would not let such a golden opportunity slip away.

Director Chen's reputation was certainly not something a small fry like Chen Mo could compare to, and his influence was similarly beyond Chen Mo's reach.

However, his disdain and those harsh words ended up drawing even more attention toward web movies and the pioneering web film Mr. Vampire.

With a touch of dark humor, the media even dug up Director Chen's past history with An Murder Caused by a Steamed Bun, dragging it back out to fuel further hype and promotion.