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Chapter 50: Underestimating the Opponent
🕑 Added 2024-09-26 18:31:13 +0000 UTCWhen Thomas, dressed in a suit and tie, arrived at the entrance of the Supreme Creative Advertising Agency, the first thing he felt was a sense of enthusiasm that sharply contrasted with the company's otherwise stifling atmosphere.
"Hello, Mr. Thomas. I'm Cindy, please come in!" Cindy, with her red hair and gentle appearance, took his briefcase and led him into the office area with a bright smile.
The office was simple and refreshing, with a warm color scheme that was pleasing to the eye.
As they walked, Thomas couldn't help but notice Cindy's swaying hips and graceful swan-like neck. He even touched his lips unconsciously.
Passing through the customer service area, his eyes were glued to the scene.
The young women there were all dressed in uniform, with impeccable hair and makeup, and graceful figures. Some were on the phone, others were adjusting their makeup in mirrors, and a few were laughing and chatting.
When they noticed a visitor, instead of shyly looking away, they threw flirtatious glances at Thomas, making his legs feel weak.
It wasn't until he reached the second floor and met Ethan and Jimmy, who had been waiting for him, that he straightened his posture and regained his usual demeanor.
"Hello, I'm Thomas, the person in charge of kerr's Baked Beans."
"Hello, Mr. Thomas. I'm Jimmy, the advertising manager of Supreme Creative. This is Mr. Ethan, the founder of Supreme Creative."
"Hello, Mr. Thomas."
After Thomas sat down, Ethan and Jimmy followed suit. Before they could speak, Kayden walked in from outside and knelt down to place coffee and tea in front of the three of them.
Thomas looked at the blonde, blue-eyed woman and exclaimed in surprise, "Are you the one from the commercial?"
"That's right, sir. My name is Kayden," Kayden smiled sweetly, nodding.
"You're very beautiful." Thomas's gaze lingered on her.
"Thank you for the compliment." Kayden winked and then left.
After the door closed, Thomas turned to Ethan and said teasingly, "If I hadn't seen your ads, I would've thought you ran a modeling agency."
Ethan laughed, "That's all thanks to Jimmy."
Jimmy shrugged, "I'm just doing my job."
"However, I have to ask, I haven't seen many other staff members around here. Is it just customer service and actors?" Thomas felt that Supreme Creative looked more like a hollow company, all shine and no substance.
Ethan nodded, "I understand your concern, but our company doesn't need a large advertising team. Just me is enough."
"Just you?" Thomas found this hard to believe. In the advertising industry, it's rare for anyone to claim they can consistently produce fresh ideas. Many people have just a few peak years before they start repeating themselves.
"And me," Jimmy interjected.
"Alright, I won't dwell on that. Since you claim to be America's top provider of creative ideas, do you have any examples?" Thomas had come to assess Supreme Creative's strength. So far, aside from the eye-catching customer service women, nothing had reassured him.
But soon, as Jimmy began describing Ethan's past ad campaigns, Thomas's eyes lit up.
"Domino's, Pepsi, Talc Sandwich Cookies, Heinz Ketchup—these were all your work?" As someone in the food industry, he had long admired these campaigns, especially Heinz Ketchup.
That market share had doubled thanks to the slogan "The Only True Ketchup," which had become the benchmark phrase in the advertising industry this year.
However, after some investigation, it was revealed that the ad came from a little-known company called Lion Advertising.
And since the Heinz Ketchup campaign, that company hadn't produced any more groundbreaking ads, and so its prominence faded.
Thomas hadn't realized that the reason for Lion's quiet spell was because Ethan and Jimmy had left.
"That's right. I've started my own business now," Ethan explained after clarifying things with Thomas. "So rest assured, we already have a comprehensive plan for kerr's Baked Beans."
"That includes the tagline and the filming concept?" Thomas asked cautiously.
"Of course, it's all covered," Ethan confidently replied.
"Good. But I really don't have time to hear it all today," Thomas glanced at his watch. "I have a board meeting to attend soon, so I'll cut to the chase. If you can come up with a tagline that impresses me, I'll give you $200,000! If you can convince the board to adopt your idea, another $200,000!"
"And if your idea really turns our baked beans around, believe me, I'll bring all of kerr's advertising to you!"
"But let me be clear: this is a very competitive bid. Ogilvy & Mather is also participating, and everything will be decided based on merit. Even if you bring that customer service girl Kayden along, it won't change a thing... So I hope you take this seriously—I'm not obligated to choose you."
"Of course, in advertising, creativity is king!" Ethan and Jimmy nodded in unison.
Thomas took a deep breath, ready to give Supreme Creative a chance to participate in this ad competition.
After he left, Jimmy looked worried. "I haven't been in the advertising industry for long, but I've heard of Ogilvy. Maroney brags about that company like it's the best thing ever. I've heard every single one of their creatives has over ten years of experience."
Although Jimmy trusted Ethan, he felt that in the face of such professionals, the two of them were like country bumpkins without anything remarkable to show.
Even with the Heinz Ketchup ad as a reference, Ogilvy had saved countless companies with their ads over the years, and countless small businesses were vying for their services, only to be turned away.
And now, they were up against the industry's giant? What a joke!
"So what?" Ethan took a sip of his tea. "We must underestimate our enemy in strategy."
"What does that mean?" Jimmy didn't understand.
"It means no matter who they are, we don't need to take them seriously when it comes to ad creativity because Supreme Creative is the best."
Ethan's face was expressionless, as if he genuinely believed that.
Jimmy slowly raised his chin, "Yeah, you know what I admire most about you, Ethan? It's your damn confidence! Right, so what if it's Ogilvy? Let's beat them!"
"But now I have a task for you: find out which ad planners Ogilvy is sending this time, and what projects they've worked on. I believe for a company that big, there should be plenty of information available, so it shouldn't be hard."
Jimmy was stunned. "Wait, wait! Weren't we supposed to underestimate them?"
Ethan turned to him with a smile, "Of course, but there's a second part to that saying: we underestimate them in strategy, but take them seriously in tactics. At the very least, we need to know their general approach so we can respond accordingly, right?"
