Chapter 44 44. Leaflets on planes

This series of advertising sketches is over, and finally a letter from an old man is published, proving that after taking the "Bailing Machine", "the effect is so effective for dozens of days, and there is no winter this year." The most famous "warning sentence" in the advertisement of "Bailingji" is "it has unexpected effect".This sentence is common now, but it was widely circulated at that time and became a colloquial language of Shanghainese. The person who came up with this sentence is said to be Huang Chujiu's second son-in-law, Zeng Huantang, who graduated from St. John's University and is good at English.One said it was Duke Yu of Wu.He originally opened a small "Chinese and Western Bookstore" on Pingwang Street.Because he came up with this witty line, he hired Huang Chujiu to Jiufu Company and became one of the boss's "think tanks".

Huang Chujiu spared no expense in promoting the "Bailing Machine".He ordered his subordinates to move around Shanghai, and found dozens of octogenarians from all corners of the country. All of them were white-haired and childlike, and their beards were as long as their chests. They were invited to play in the "big world" for a day, and then took a group photo together.This photo was published in newspapers and magazines as a living advertisement, with a brief introduction titled "Centenarian Conference", and the following two sentences: "Take a hundred-age machine daily to produce miraculous effects, and the centenarians will never grow old !” Some people read this kind of publicity and know it is a “gimmick”, but they can’t help but admire the person who came up with this “gimmick” is very good at using their brains.

That's not sensational enough.Huang Chujiu also ordered people to order a large kite in the Town God's Temple. A cage was hung on the bottom, and a medicine thread was hung down. From the top of the high tower at the main entrance of the "Big World", the kite was sent into the clouds, and the medicine thread was ignited at the same time.After a while, the kite was slowly rising, and the medicine thread was burned out. With a "poof", the cage was opened, and a large number of "Bai Ling Ji" advertising leaflets were scattered and fell, causing countless pedestrians to rush to pick them up, and spread them as news laughingly. It is spreading the "Bailing Machine".

Hu Tiegeng, an old man in his nineties who is still alive today, used to be in charge of running the Luochun Pavilion Tea House opened by Huang Chujiu (famous for its fried steamed buns).An "announcement" was published in the newspaper in advance, saying that at what time on a certain day of a certain month, leaflets would be dropped by airplanes over certain roads at what time, and there were also large-denomination lottery coupons in it.At that time, the road was really crowded with people, everyone looked up and waited for the plane to come and grab the lottery tickets.The plane did come, and the leaflets of "Bai Ling Ji" were also scattered. I don't know if there were any lottery tickets, but it caused chaos and accidents continued.The concession authorities then ordered that no one else follow suit in the future.This time, Huang Chujiu was also greatly beaten by the concession authorities.

Someone once asked Huang Chujiu, how much can a box of "Bai Ling Ji" sell for, and is it worth spending a lot of money on advertising? Huang Chujiu said that he had settled an account and it was worth it.Assuming that "Bai Ling Ji" sells for one yuan per box, after deducting the cost and advertising expenses, even if it only makes a dime, as long as it sells more, there will be considerable profits.He has always advocated "small profits but quick turnover" when doing business.