Chapter 56

Buying ads like crazy, buying recommendation slots, going on variety shows, going on influencer livestreams...

Sometimes the promotion time is even longer than the broadcast time.

In this world, there's no need to run promotions that crazily,

but it is still indispensable.

Su Chen participated in several talk shows

and also conducted a live stream with the main crew members.

They kept at it until the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the day *Blossoms Shanghai* was about to air, before finishing work.

Of course, this was only the preliminary promotion.

During the hot broadcast of the TV series, there will be a second wave of promotion,

but the intensity will not be particularly high.

In an era where the internet is highly developed,

any work that wants to be a massive hit relies on quality.

Appropriate promotion is necessary, but no need to go overboard.

With CCTV as a backer, the exposure is absolutely sufficient.

Next, it depends on word of mouth!

If the word of mouth is good,

people will spread it by word of mouth, fermenting across the entire internet, and the heat will naturally skyrocket.

If the word of mouth flops,

even if you spend 10 billion on promotion, no one will care.

This is a very realistic thing.

………

【Kneeling and begging for self-subscription! Kneeling and begging for monthly tickets!】

Finally arrived after much anticipation!

After more than half a year of filming, production, and promotion, *Blossoms Shanghai* finally officially aired.

This is the show that Wong Kar-wai filmed the most content for, but took the shortest time to complete.

Usually, a one-and-a-half-hour movie

would take him three to five years, or even ten years to film.

A TV series of dozens of episodes only took half a year.

The speed is already legendary!

Of course, a large part of this is thanks to Su Chen.

His near-perfect acting skills greatly improved the filming efficiency.

At the same time, driven by Su Chen,

the entire crew, including Wong Kar-wai himself, got motivated.

Efficiency soared!

Otherwise, this show would have been delayed for several more months before airing.

From the beginning of the project,

it was decided that Wong Kar-wai would direct it,

which immediately gained extremely high attention.

Later, the plan to invite an all-star lineup led by Hu Ge

caused even more heated attention across the internet.

After that, Su Chen snatched the male lead from Hu Ge,

which caused another uproar across the internet.

Netizens thought Su Chen had a super strong background and was "investing to join the crew."

Later on,

the scandals between Su Chen and the three women, as well as the few singles he released,

all pushed the attention of *Blossoms Shanghai* to its peak!

Until Su Chen's "Nocturne" became a legend in one battle,

his position and *Blossoms Shanghai*'s were completely swapped.

Su Chen no longer needed to rely on *Blossoms Shanghai* to climb to top-tier status.

Instead, this show relied on Su Chen's heat and popularity to attract more viewers.

Because this show is about Shanghai in the 90s,

the regional color is too strong,

and it is destined that a considerable 19 part of the audience will not like watching it.

But because many of these people are Su Chen's fans,

they turned their attention to this show.

After 8 PM,

the first and second episodes of *Blossoms Shanghai* officially aired!

CCTV already has super high ratings,

and many TV series aired have good ratings.

However, once *Blossoms Shanghai* was born,

it was like throwing a heavy bomb into a calm deep pool,

instantly causing a huge sensation!

The ratings that night reached an astonishing 2.93%!

For a TV series that just started airing,

this data is quite terrifying.

And after 0 o'clock,

*Blossoms Shanghai* was updated simultaneously on Tencent Video.

In just half a day, the click count broke 200 million!

It is possible that after the hot broadcast ends, the single-platform click count will break 15 billion,

or even 20 billion!

Chasing the record of *Princess Agents*.

It can be said that judging only from the premiere situation,

this show, whether in terms of CCTV ratings or online click counts,

as well as the number of VIP members created,

far exceeded expectations.

However, TV series are the same as movies.

The initial popularity is caused by the heat brought by the subject matter, actors, and director.

In the end, it still depends on quality.

If the quality is not good,

it will start high and end low, falling off a cliff!

The *Shanghai Fortress* of that year was like this.

That "epic domestic sci-fi masterpiece" was released,

and the box office exploded!

But it exploded in the morning and collapsed in the afternoon.

Two or three days after release, it was taken off all theaters.

The investors lost so much they bled kidneys!

Fortunately, as *Blossoms Shanghai* continued to air hotly,

the ratings remained at a quite high level.

The view count is also soaring in sync.

Although its popularity compared to those super explosive TV dramas,

such as "The Knockout" or "In the Name of the People," is a bit lacking,

it can absolutely be called a hit.

Perhaps "Blossoms Shanghai" is not the hottest TV drama,

but it is definitely the one with the highest quality.

Because whether a TV drama is a hit or not,

the plot, subject matter, acting, characters, and the charm of the actors themselves

are all major influencing factors.

Take "The Knockout" as an example.

To get this show aired, it underwent drastic changes.

It started with a bang and ended with a whimper; it was nothing.

Yet it still became incredibly popular.

As for quality...

there doesn't seem to be much quality to speak of.

However, every actor and every character in the show had a very distinct personality, leaving a deep impression.

The plot and subject matter of "Blossoms Shanghai" itself

are at a natural disadvantage compared to "The Knockout."

But in terms of artistic standard, "The Knockout" is not even in the same league.

A high artistic standard often means it is too refined for the common taste.

It is difficult for the general public to accept.

Most of Wong Kar-wai's films have had mediocre box office results.

Not many people have seen them either.

For "Blossoms Shanghai" to achieve such results is already excellent.

There is no doubt it will make a big profit.

This has achieved the goals of Wong Kar-wai and the investors!

During the nearly one month it was on air,

topics related to "Blossoms Shanghai," Su Chen, Tang Yan, and others

appeared on the trending searches several times almost every day.

It wasn't bought with money.

It was purely pushed up by the netizens.

Especially since Su Chen brings his own popularity.

Even without the show "Blossoms Shanghai,"

he would still be on the trending searches every day.

Netizens are obsessed with his songs, his scandals, and his "Cao Cao" attribute.

They can't get enough of discussing it!

With "Blossoms Shanghai" currently airing and receiving rave reviews,

Su Chen's acting has completely blown the audience away!

Because when it comes down to it, Su Chen is only in his 20s.

He is very young.

Youth usually means less experience and poor acting skills.

Even though Su Chen is not like those traffic-driven young idols who have no professional ability,

netizens didn't have very high expectations for him either.

But Su Chen's acting

was just like his songs, completely shocking the entire internet.

As a young man,

he portrayed the image of a successful middle-aged man to perfection.

Through Su Chen's acting,

he interpreted the complex character of Mr. Bao!

At the same time, it reflected the complex background of the entire 1990s.

That was an era of drastic economic fluctuations.

Many people made a fortune relying on the stock market,

but they also encountered stock market crashes and economic crises, falling into the abyss.

Many people even went bankrupt and committed suicide because of it.

In the TV drama,

Mr. Bao relied on his extraordinary wisdom and luck to escape a disaster.

In reality, in the original novel,

Mr. Bao was not so lucky.

But the novel and the TV drama are different.

The novel has more room for development.

If the TV drama dared to film it that way, it would be roasted to death!

A TV drama can end in tragedy, but it cannot be too tragic.

When he first received the script, Su Chen read the ending first.

He would interpret the character of Mr. Bao better based on the ending.

If Mr. Bao went bankrupt and committed suicide due to high-stakes gambling,

then Su Chen would amplify his gambling nature and adventurous spirit during his performance.

However, upon seeing this relatively perfect ending,

Su Chen deliberately restrained those attributes in his performance.

Therefore, whether it was his own image and temperament,

or his acting techniques and grasp of the character,

he reached an impeccable level, stunning the entire internet!

"Is 'Blossoms Shanghai' too good? I feel like it's the best TV drama I've ever seen in my life, bar none."

"666... Is 'Blossoms Shanghai' only this long? I feel like when it finishes airing, I'll feel instantly empty, like a boyfriend pulling out."

"Su Chen's acting is truly god-tier! I thought he had the potential to be a music superstar and his acting would be just average. I didn't expect his acting to be even more explosive!"

"Su Chen isn't even 25 yet, right? This singing, this acting, this creative ability... looking at the entire entertainment industry, I can't pick out anyone who can compare to him."

"Su Chen is truly a genius! No wonder he could snatch the lead role from Hu Ge. I will never roast him again."

"From today on, I am a mindless fan of Su Chen. Any of his dramas, any of his songs, any of his variety shows, any brand he endorses, I will follow mindlessly! Come at me if you disagree!"

"As expected of the leader of our 'Cao Cao' party, he's just amazing."

"I finally understand why these two exquisite wives, Yang Mi and Tang Yan, were taken by him and divorced because of him. If it were me, I'd do the same!"

"Keep it low-key, upstairs. These scandals about our Su Chen are all fake. If you keep spreading rumors, what if he gets banned?"

………

Because the popularity of Su Chen and "Blossoms Shanghai" was too explosive,

besides netizens,

many celebrities, big-V bloggers, or influencers and marketing accounts

all flocked to the comment section to ride the wave of popularity and farm traffic.

This is an era where traffic is king.

As long as the traffic is high enough, you can make a lot of money.

For example, that "Stealing Guevara" who was in prison before,

as soon as he was released,

a whole bunch of influencer company bosses were at the prison gate to welcome him.