Hollywood:Starting out as an MV director

"Crash" was Lionsgate's biggest hope for the Oscars this year.

Not only did the film tackle racial issues, but it also employed a multi-threaded narrative. It was well known that this kind of complex storytelling was more likely to win favor with the Academy.

So, when Ethan called, Lionsgate quickly agreed to collaborate on the PR campaign and contributed a public relations budget of three million.

Hollywood had many PR firms, but only a few had proven results. Companies like Miramax were already well-known masters of publicity.

Thus, having someone like Charlie Norwin, who came from Miramax, earned Lionsgate's trust.

At the same time, Memoirs of a Geisha was now being widely released, with audience reviews hovering around an average score of 8.

Everyone agreed that it was an excellent historical tragedy.

However, many people simply didn't enjoy watching tragedies, making it a film that was critically acclaimed but not a box-office hit.

But Ethan had already gained everything he wanted from it. In fact, Spielberg had to pay an additional PR fee—something Ethan had arranged with him during production.

After all, Ethan couldn't possibly be expected to spend his own money on PR for Memoirs of a Geisha.

Back at the office, Rachel's ex-boyfriend, Bond, came to see him.

"Ethan, we've found some information," he said cautiously, his smile humble, his tone careful.

"Have a seat." Ethan gestured with his hand. His secretary immediately brought Bond a glass of water before thoughtfully stepping out and closing the door behind her.

"It's like this—Crown Creative is currently in talks with three companies: Procter & Gamble, Ford, and Durex."

"Hmm, all major brands. Interesting. How's their progress?"

Ethan crossed one leg over the other, sipping his tea.

In many cases, the advertising industry relied on relationships and sales.

Sales representatives were the most valuable talent in the business, because when two companies had similarly strong creative ideas, the one that landed the project usually depended on whether their sales team could maintain a good relationship with the client.

To bring in more business, Fernando's sales team had gradually become the largest department in the company. However, human resources were limited, and since they hadn't worked in some industries before, they couldn't easily connect with major corporations.

Hearing Ethan's question, Bond answered, "Rachel says Procter & Gamble has already entered the bidding phase, while Ford and Durex are still in the creative proposal stage."

"Good. You've done a great job." Ethan clapped his hands. "I'll have Fernando verify this information. If it checks out, there will be a generous deposit in your bank account."

"Thank you."

Bond had been feeling uneasy for some time, afraid that Ethan would make unreasonable demands.

But Ethan had proven to be extremely cautious—even more so than Bond and Rachel. He was willing to give up opportunities if it meant ensuring the safety of the information he obtained.

That reassured both of them. And since Ethan's payments were generous, they had now grown accustomed to reporting their findings to him.

After Bond left, Ethan immediately instructed Fernando to verify the intel.

That evening, he received a response.

"Bond's information is accurate. Ford recently launched a new SUV and is holding a competition for advertising concepts, but they didn't notify our company."

"Durex is in the same situation. Since we've never worked on similar projects, we weren't included in their candidate list."

Fernando, a veteran in the advertising industry, had managed to figure out the full picture in just one afternoon.

Ethan nodded. "Can you convince them to let us participate? I'm curious—why was Crown Creative included in the competition while Supreme Creative wasn't?"

Fernando spread his hands. "Because we don't have Crown Creative's investor backing."

"Oh? Explain in detail."

Ethan still wasn't entirely sure where Sieg's confidence in making a comeback was coming from.

"I just heard this recently, so I don't know if it's entirely accurate. But I'd say it's pretty close to the truth." Fernando explained, "Crown Creative is actually a subsidiary of IPG."

"IPG? Interpublic Group?" Ethan frowned slightly.

"No, the IPG we often talk about is an independent advertising company in New York. But this IPG is the Interpublic Group, the second-largest advertising conglomerate in the United States. It owns McCann-Erickson, Leo Burnett, and several other agencies."

Fernando shrugged. "They're not even in the same league."

"I see. So in the end, Sieg still went back to IPG?" Ethan chuckled, making a pun.

"Exactly! Hahaha." Fernando laughed along with him.

After the laughter faded, they returned to the main topic.

"So, Ethan, do you really want to compete for these two accounts? I can get us into the bidding process, but our company doesn't have any creatives with experience in these industries. Can we really win?"

Ethan nodded. "Of course. Just because our company doesn't have experience doesn't mean I don't."

"Wow, you're going to step into the battlefield yourself?" Fernando looked surprised.

"That's right." Ethan flexed his wrists. It had been a long time since he had worked on creative projects, but that didn't mean he had lost his touch.

Since he didn't have much on his plate lately, he might as well return to his old craft and help Supreme Creative take down a few tough projects.

It also gave him a perfect excuse to avoid invitations from certain women.

Ever since Jessica and Anne Hathaway met Carmela, they had started acting like his fiancées, wanting to keep him by their side at all times.

And lately, when he had been intimate with them, he hadn't taken any precautions.

Who knew? Maybe one day, a little angel would unexpectedly arrive in his life.

But before that, he had to make some other preparations.

Especially in terms of money and status—he needed to rise as quickly as possible and secure his place among Hollywood's capital elites.

Besides children, power and wealth were also ways to keep women around.

Three days later, Fernando had secured meetings with the higher-ups of Ford and Durex, officially bringing Supreme Creative into the competition for their advertising campaigns.

News of this quickly reached Seig's ears.

At that moment, he was sitting in a bright and spacious office, accompanied by Figgs and Milton.

Figgs was a former sales representative from IPG, while Milton had been promoted by Seig himself to head a department at IPG.

Now, all three had joined Interpublic Group (IPG) and founded Crown Creative.

Standing beside them was Rachel, dressed in a sharp secretary outfit, looking striking.

Even Milton couldn't help but glance at her a few more times.

"You can leave now," Seeger waved his hand, dismissing Rachel from the office. Then he turned back to the others. "Supreme Creative has been quite active lately."

"Yeah, they convinced Ford and Durex to let them into the competition…" Figgs flipped through the documents in his hand. "But I'm curious—how did they find out about these projects? Could someone be feeding them information?"

"Hm…" Seeger shook his head. "We weren't exactly keeping it a secret, were we? They could've heard about it from other sources, not necessarily from us."

"So what should we do? We haven't received any useful intel from Supreme Creative recently," Figgs continued.

"That's normal. We took quite a few projects from them before—they've probably caught on to something. But it doesn't matter. They're not our only competition. We'll wait until they let their guard down."

"Understood."

After that, Seeger turned to Milton. "How's the creative work for Ford and Durex coming along?"

"It's ready. For Ford, we're focusing on a mountain-driving experience. As for Durex, our concept revolves around the differing perspectives between men and women on intimacy."

Milton handed two advertising proposals to Seeger.

Seeger rubbed his chin as he reviewed them, finding the ideas solid. "Good. Let's go with these. This is our first direct confrontation with Supreme Creative since leaving IPG—I'll personally lead the charge."

"Understood."

At the same time, Ethan was discussing creative ideas with Jimmy.

"What's your concept? If it can't pass my standards, there's no way it'll impress those picky clients," Jimmy said. Over the past year, he had been managing Supreme Creative and had grown significantly in skill.

"Sounds like you're pretty confident," Ethan raised an eyebrow at him.

"Of course!" Jimmy pumped his fist. "People in the company call me the 'Creative Gatekeeper.' If I approve a pitch, there's an 80% chance the client will accept it."

"Alright, since you're so sure of yourself, take a look at these two proposals," Ethan said, handing over a folder.

"No problem, Ethan. First one—hah! Ford Motors. They need a print ad with a slogan. Let's see… 'Choose your way to get stuck in traffic'?"

Jimmy frowned for a moment, then carefully examined Ethan's hand-drawn images. After about 30 seconds, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Oh! I see what you did there! My God, Ethan, how did you come up with this perspective? Damn it—you're still as sharp as ever with ad slogans!"

Jimmy was shocked. He had thought that after a year of handling Supreme Creative, he should be more professional than Ethan. But once again, Ethan's advertising skills amazed him.

Looking at the image and the slogan, Jimmy realized they fit together perfectly—it would absolutely resonate with those picky clients.

"Ugh… I don't even know what to say. Do you ever run out of ideas?"

Ethan chuckled. "Because they're always in my head."

"Alright, alright. Let's check the next one. I refuse to believe you nailed Durex too—that brand is the hardest to crack."

Durex ads were among the most creative in the industry. They had to be clever, humorous, and filled with innuendo—straightforward ads wouldn't work.

This was why Durex rarely changed its ad partners—many agencies simply couldn't meet their high creative standards.

But this time, they wanted a commercial.

Jimmy opened the folder, scanning the script inside.

Two minutes later, he shut the folder and furrowed his brows.

"I don't get it," he muttered. Then, noticing Ethan's amused expression, he reopened the folder and read it again.

This time, he understood.

And his expression turned to pure astonishment.

"Holy crap, Ethan! This concept… I guarantee the clients will be stunned—it's brilliant! This perspective is so unique."

Jimmy admitted defeat, setting the folder down. "Looks like we have a real shot at winning these clients."

"Don't get cocky, Jimmy. Crown Creative isn't a pushover," Ethan remained cautious.

"The presentations start in a couple of days. Get the cover art and visuals ready for me."

"No problem—that's my specialty."

With his assignment in hand, Jimmy left, while Ethan leaned back on the couch, checking a message from Taylor Swift.

"Ethan, I just got back to New York. I want to discuss something about my album with you."

Although Ethan wasn't sure what she wanted to talk about, he agreed to meet her at a restaurant.

After all, Taylor Swift's album had already sold 1.5 million copies. In less than a year, she had surpassed the sales target set by Giorgio.

This meant Ethan would receive 80% of the sales revenue.

After deducting various expenses, Angel Records would pocket around $7.3 million.

Of course, 45% of that had to be shared with Taylor, her backing vocalists, musicians, and production team.

In the end, Angel Records would net over $3 million.

It might not seem like much, but this was just the first six months of her debut album. Compared to the $200,000 production cost, the album was practically a money-printing machine.

And in the future, once Taylor's music hit streaming platforms, the licensing fees alone would be massive.

So, Ethan could tolerate her occasional mood swings and small requests—like having dinner together.

But when he arrived at the restaurant, he found Taylor dressed in a revealing outfit, wearing a spaghetti-strap top that accentuated her growing curves.

"Taylor, so what did you want to discuss about your album?" Ethan asked as he sat beside her.

Taylor smiled mischievously. "I want to start working on my next album."

"That soon?" Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"Yep!" Taylor grinned excitedly. "I've already decided on the title—Fearless. What do you think?"

"It's a great name!" Ethan clapped his hands. "Just hearing it, I know it's going to sell like crazy."

"Haha, really?"

"Really. I'll give you a number—10 million copies."

"That's ridiculous, Ethan." Taylor covered her mouth in shock.

Ethan didn't reply. He just smiled, knowing that the number wasn't ridiculous at all—it would become reality.

In 2011, Fearless sold 10 million copies worldwide and was certified 9× Platinum by the Philippine Recording Industry Association.

It would far surpass her first album.

"Oh, and I haven't even celebrated your million-sales milestone yet. So, how does it feel to be rich?" Ethan clinked his glass against hers.

"Amazing! I've never felt better!" Taylor beamed. "I'm already planning to buy a new house for my family and a new car for my dad."

"That sounds great…" Ethan was about to say more when Taylor gazed directly at him.

"And you, Ethan I bought a gift for you."

.....

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