Chapter 173: CCTV Advertising Department

At this time of year, Beijing wasn't very crowded. Even standing at the entrance of Beijing North Station, there was no overwhelming sea of people.

There weren't hordes of dreamers coming here to either fail spectacularly or achieve great success. The pace of life in the city had picked up, but it wasn't too fast yet.

Li Xian came here to arrange an advertisement for the sanitary napkins and, thinking he might not have much time to wander, took the bus.

The driver's Beijing accent sounded particularly pleasant. With not many people on the bus, the driver was not only speeding faster than a minibus but also had the time to chat with passengers.

Despite the natural pride in his words, the driver maintained a friendly tone.

"Hey, what do you think of Beijing these days?"

In response to Li Xian's inquiry, the driver, wearing a sleeveless vest and a white polyester uniform, tilted his head, "We don't know how the leaders are doing, but as for us… Are we poor? We're much better off than in the 70s or 80s. Are we rich? My salary is just enough to support my family, with no surplus. How to put it? We're neither poor nor rich, but we're content. That's about it."

Listening to the driver's rambling, which covered the lives of people in the streets similar to his own, Li Xian found it quite interesting.

The market had opened, goods were abundant, and though every household had trivial domestic issues, everyone's daily life seemed to be full of promise.

Looking back from this point and comparing it to the future, it all seemed just right.

"What? You want to know where our house is? It's in Bingbuwa Hutong, right between Qianmen Street and the National Grand Theater. My parents divided up a large courtyard house, and after marrying my wife, I managed to buy two courtyard rooms through saving and borrowing. We have a place to live, though it's not warm in winter or cool in summer. It's a bit of a mess, but we make do."

Upon hearing this, Li Xian quietly returned to his seat, feeling reluctant to continue the conversation.

Talking to someone who would become a millionaire twenty years later was quite frustrating!

However, since the driver wasn't intentionally being pretentious, Li Xian still shook hands with him and offered some advice before getting off.

"In less than twelve years, don't sell that house. Otherwise, you'll regret it for a lifetime. Also, if you can, don't save money—save up for property."

Watching Li Xian's retreating figure, the driver scratched his head. "Can't eat or drink, why save up for that stuff? It's not worth it! Hey, young man—yes, you! Are you too short for elementary school or don't you know how to buy a ticket? What's with the attitude? Do you think you're a dwarf or are you putting donkey hair in your eyes?"

...

After asking around several times at the CCTV building, Li Xian finally found the location of the advertising department.

When he reached the department, he was taken aback.

He remembered that CCTV advertising only went crazy around 94 or 95, but now, there was already a long line in front of the advertising department, which was unexpected.

Carrying a briefcase, Li Xian joined the queue of over twenty people and realized he had underestimated the CCTV advertising department at this time.

None of these twenty people were company representatives; they were all from advertising agencies. Compared to companies that hired professional advertising teams, Li Xian's direct approach with money made him look like a novice.

It was already past 2 p.m., and seeing no one coming out of or going into the advertising business negotiation area, Li Xian figured he might have come in vain today.

He probably wouldn't even see the staff.

Just as he was feeling disheartened, a tired female voice came from the reception area, "Comrade, I understand how you feel. But this matter isn't something that can be settled with just a few calls."

Her words were somewhat blunt, and with so many people outside, it wasn't appropriate to expose such behind-the-scenes details publicly.

However, the woman seemed to be intentionally speaking for those outside to hear, her tone was quite loud.

After sending the disheveled person from the office away, the woman looked around and shook her head for some unknown reason.

As someone from the nearest spot approached with a smirk, the woman waved her hand and said, "Manager Xing, you've come several times in the past few days. The 6 p.m. slots are fully booked, and I really can't arrange anything for you. Let's stick to the original schedule. Please give me a break and don't make things difficult for me, okay?"

The man, who hadn't said a word, turned red-faced, and the woman glanced at the queue. Seeing that most of them were familiar faces, she shook her head and shouted, "Is there anyone here not trying to use connections for a slot? Is there anyone here for advertising business?"

Hearing this, Li Xian jumped up, raising his hand high, "I am!"

The woman looked Li Xian up and down, perhaps noticing his unfamiliar face or his sweat-soaked shirt collar and crumpled suit pants, and then nodded. She gestured, "Come in, Comrade. Let's talk inside."

Li Xian straightened his back, proudly glanced at the queue, and walked forward confidently.

He thought to himself that this department had a good vibe.

No need to line up if you don't use backdoor connections.

...

Things went relatively smoothly.

After briefly explaining the sanitary napkin advertisement at the reception, Li Xian was taken upstairs to meet a minor leader in the advertising planning department.

According to the leader, the advertisement slots for the coming month were already fully booked. Premium slots like from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. were booked up to six months in advance.

According to Li Xian's requirements, the only available slots within a month were early morning slots—the least popular time.

The cost wasn't cheap—150,000 yuan per second per month, with a minimum of five seconds.

This was a bit awkward.

Li Xian wanted to advertise on CCTV to boost the visibility of Weini sanitary napkins in first-tier cities. However, sanitary napkin ads targeted women, not men or children.

Except for unmarried young women, which family's wife or mother isn't busy taking care of their husband and children early in the morning? Advertising at this time was akin to showing a flirtatious gesture to a blind person—utterly pointless.

Seeing Li Xian sit silently, the leader grew impatient, glanced at the quartz clock on the wall, and sipped his goji berry water, "So, Comrade, are you going to do it or not?"

Li Xian came back to his senses and gritted his teeth.

"Early morning it is. Let's do it!"

Seeing that Li Xian had made up his mind, the leader smiled and handed over an application form, "Then fill out this form. Also, the new leadership above has instructed that advertising films should preferably not be outsourced to advertising companies but handled by our department's planning section. If you don't have an advertising company, you'll need to pay an additional 100,000 yuan for production fees, and we'll handle everything."

Though this sounded like a suggestion, a consent form was already placed next to the application form.

Seeing this, Li Xian was momentarily stunned, "Can I use an advertising company?"

As soon as he asked, the application form was withdrawn.

Li Xian quickly signed the consent form.

He thought to himself, "If it's a package deal, just stick with it. Why all this unnecessary chatter? So exhausting!"