Chapter 177: Invisible Wings

Li Xian had a slight impression of Ding Sheng, but the face in front of him was so distinctive that it made a strong impression. Even though this face had no wrinkles or stubble yet, the disproportionate neck length made it easy for Li Xian to spot him among the crowd.

Wasn't this the guy who became famous for making a personal promotional video for Brother Cheng Long and then did "Hard Man"?

Li Xian recognized Ding Sheng, but Ding Sheng clearly had no idea who he was.

Seeing a "financial backer" of his age, Ding Sheng's face showed some suspicion. After Li Xian invited him to sit in the hotel lobby, he asked, "Mr. Li, can I first ask what kind of advertisement you want to shoot?"

Regardless of his future development, as a young university student in his early twenties, Ding Sheng's ability to conceal his social awareness was still limited.

From the wary look in Ding Sheng's eyes, Li Xian deduced a lot.

He smiled slightly, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and handed it to Ding Sheng. "It's something that your mother and wife will use, and it's something that will be used every month."

Ding Sheng smelled the cigarette, pulled out a crumpled box of Hongmei from his pocket, and squeezed out a lighter. "A washboard?"

Li Xian's hand shook as he lit the cigarette, thinking, "What kind of environment did you grow up in that made you think of this first?"

"It's a sanitary pad."

Li Xian answered with a smile.

Ding Sheng was stunned.

"This... Mr. Li's business is really... special."

Li Xian laughed and explained his requirements for the advertisement: it should have background music and highlight care for women. Seeing Ding Sheng silently pondering while smoking, he asked after a moment of thought, "Can it be done?"

"Hard to do," Ding Sheng shook his head. "Five seconds is too short. Visually, it only fits to highlight one conceptual thing."

Afraid that Li Xian might not understand, Ding Sheng gestured with his hand, creating a curved shape similar to holding a watermelon. "The human capacity to absorb information is limited. If you want to capture someone's attention in a short time, you need at least ten seconds. Five seconds will only give a vague impression unless someone is deliberately watching."

Li Xian nodded.

When negotiating with CCTV about the morning slot, the leader named Li had given two options: one was to broadcast the ad three times separately, and the other was to combine them into one 15-second slot. The key issue was how to create the ad content.

Ding Sheng chewed on his cigarette, clearly unfamiliar with female hygiene products. He put out the cigarette and waved his hand. "Mr. Li, we will research the ad content later. Can I ask where you plan to broadcast it?"

Seeing Ding Sheng still doubtful, Li Xian took out the contract from his bag and placed it in front of Ding Sheng.

"CCTV ad?!"

Ding Sheng, holding the contract, was so shocked that he fell backward with his chair.

---

Ding Sheng was ecstatic.

He couldn't imagine that this guy, who was about the same age as him, had posted a CCTV ad project on the North Film dormitory door looking for someone to do it!

For a film academy student, such an opportunity was like a big cake falling from the sky!

The happiness came too suddenly.

Greatly encouraged, Ding Sheng immediately asked the hotel reception for paper and pen and began working with Li Xian on the ad content.

As a student from the Fine Arts Department of the North Film Academy, Ding Sheng's drawing skills were impressive. Even his simple sketches on a notebook were highly visual.

In the morning, Li Xian had come up with two ideas, but due to his lack of expertise, he couldn't connect them to concrete visuals.

To put it simply, he had ideas but lacked technical skills.

After Ding Sheng didn't quite get his points, Li Xian shared his thoughts.

Upon hearing Li Xian's ideas, Ding Sheng's pen moved quickly. Soon, a sketch of a cloudy cityscape and a simple drawing of a rainbow in the sky appeared before them.

These sketches not only impressed Li Xian but also earned Ding Sheng's admiration.

When Li Xian hummed a piece of music that didn't exist in this era, Ding Sheng put down his pen.

"Mr. Li, what you need is not just a planner or a director... what you need is a team to get things done."

That night, Ding Sheng stayed in Li Xian's hotel room, spending the entire night completing the ad plan.

He drew fifteen or sixteen sketches just for the visual elements. Once the complete plan was in place, he finally fell asleep on the carpet in the smoky room.

The next day, Ding Sheng went back to North Film, gathered the small team he had planned for his graduation project, rented equipment, found a plain-looking acting student, and, with a fire-hot pot meal as compensation, got a bunch of art students to work on the animation part. They spent a week finishing the ad.

The ad's content was quite simple, but Li Xian's idea required specific weather conditions. The small team waited for four days to get a cloudy day.

When the background music, animation part, and voiceover were finally edited together, Li Xian was satisfied with the finished ad.

Looking at the final product that had both visuals and content, he gave himself a pat on the back.

This was an ad!

On the day of the release, Li Xian took the finished ad to CCTV's advertising department for submission.

---

At the CCTV advertising department, when the planners heard that a sanitary pad ad had been submitted for review, they were all curious. Regardless of whether they had work or not, they gathered around the technical team.

Seeing the label that read "Wei Ni Sanitary Pad Ad — 'Rainbow'," Ding Sheng looked it over twice. "Wow, it seems like it's a 15-second ad? Which company did this? Taking a ten thousand yuan job? Are they crazy?"

The person in charge of the review, Xiao Liu, smiled and took the tape from Ding Sheng's hand. "I asked when it was sent. They said it was planned by a few students from North Film and done by themselves."

Hearing this, Ding Sheng clapped his hands and pointed at the tape, saying to his colleagues, "Everyone, take note! Instead of trusting our own CCTV planners, they went to North Film to find students. What spirit is this? This is selfless dedication, spending ten thousand yuan to throw money away! This is a pursuit of perfection and an extreme spirit of professionalism! I truly admire that Mr. Li. This is not business, it's like a commercial industry version of Bethune! Noble! Truly noble!"

Hearing his speech, the female colleagues in the group smiled.

"Alright, Lao Gao, it's quite a skill to get it done with ten thousand yuan. Although we've worked with some generous bosses from the Northeast before, it's rare to see someone so stingy."

"Oh, stop talking. Let's see what the North Film level is really like."

As everyone laughed and joked around, Director Tan walked over with a stack of documents. Seeing everyone away from their posts, she was somewhat displeased.

However, intrigued by the ad submitted by the unsatisfied planner, she asked the technical team to play the tape.

The ad soon appeared on the equipment.

Accompanied by a soft and beautiful guitar melody.

The first scene showed an ordinary-looking girl frowning at a stain of blood on her bed, then opening the curtains to see a rainy day outside, appearing somewhat disappointed and dejected.

The scene shifted to the girl stepping outside with an umbrella, only to be blocked by a wide ditch in the rain.

At this moment, the girl accidentally dropped a sanitary pad with wings into the ditch. As she lamented, the sanitary pad "whoosh!" absorbed all the water from the ditch!

Then, a clear path appeared before her! At the same time, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and a rainbow arched across the sky!

"I know, I have a pair of invisible wings, carrying me, flying over despair."

After the background music ended, a gentle female voice said, "Wei Ni Protective Wings Sanitary Pads, providing the closest care for women."

Then the scene transitioned to an animated clip. A mosquito with a round belly landed by the girl's bed and happened to rest on the sanitary pad with small wings.

Result: "Whoosh!" The mosquito was sucked dry.

"New wood pulp absorption technology, super absorbent with no leakage!"

Click.

The tape ended.

Looking at the dark screen, the entire technical department fell into silence.

In the silence, several female colleagues who were on their periods struggled to resist the urge to change their sanitary pads.

After watching this ad, they suddenly felt uncomfortable in their lower regions.