The Haunted Monster Actor - Chapter 94



Only Noblemtl

Episode 94

Late at night.

Before going to bed, Gogun checked the matter regarding Hyunsoo’s CF contract that he had discussed with the Pieroreum advertising team one last time.

There are three main criteria that Pieroreum uses to select CF contracts.

First, corporate image.

There is a common perception that only advertisers care about the image of celebrities, but that is a statement made without understanding the reality of the industry.

Celebrities also look at the corporate image just as much as advertisers.

For example, actor Joo Hee-woon, who was a rising star at the time, signed a contract for the highest amount in the industry to appear in an advertisement for a health drink company.

The drink, which had seen explosive sales growth thanks to extensive advertising, later faced the unprecedented situation of a full recall due to issues with carcinogens.

Model Joo Hee-woon has also been a firm favorite with consumers for quite some time.

Although he only signed an advertising contract to make money, the image of him smiling while holding a beverage containing carcinogens was engraved in the minds of consumers.

Second is the concept and storyboard of the advertisement itself.

The advertising concept desired by the company must be carried out in a way that does not greatly affect the public image of the celebrity affiliated with the company.

Especially in the case of long-term contracts, you need to be more careful because the corporate image and celebrity image may go together.

‘Yes, this is the taste.’

Veteran actress Won Hye-sook, who had a contract for a seasoning advertisement with a major corporation, was unable to escape the image of the nation’s mother for over 30 years because of that one line in the advertisement.

Now that the actress has been given the image of a national mother, what happened next?

Actress Won Hye-sook has played the role of a mother in numerous dramas day and night.

It has become something like a shackle for an actor that he cannot take off even if he wants to.

The third is also ‘money’.

In fact, the main source of income for most celebrities is none other than ‘advertisements.’

In Hyunsoo’s case, since this is his first advertising contract, he must be especially careful in negotiating his appearance fee.

This is because advertising contracts will be made based on the unit price agreed upon this time for at least the next six months.

So, when we summarize the story so far, Gogun’s criteria for selecting advertising contract companies is simple.

A place where you can call for the largest possible deposit while satisfying the first two requirements.

How can I call for a large deposit?

It has to be a place where the value of actor ‘Kim Hyun-soo’ can be properly recognized.

Surrounded by numerous documents, Gogun, who had been pondering deeply until late at night, finally took out one document.

[Lower Arts Sports – CF Contract]

Low Arts Sports.

It is a domestically produced sportswear brand that is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

The first condition is already met, as the brand has survived for 40 years without any major incidents or accidents.

The second thing to check is the concept of the advertisement.

[Every moment of life is a sport.]

Currently, Lowarts Sports is attempting to transform into a total fashion brand by emphasizing its strength as a sportswear brand that has been loved for 40 years.

“A safe concept that won’t have much of an impact on the actor’s image.”

Since Hyunsoo has not yet established a clear image, this safe concept seems more appropriate.

Now, the last and most important issue left is determining the ‘appearance fee’.

“Recently, it was acquired by Mujig, a large fashion platform, and is carrying out aggressive marketing… … .”

That means, being in charge of advertising for Low Arts Sports means signing a contract with Mujig.

“The future connection with other advertisements is not bad. The parent company’s support will also provide ample funding. As of now, there is no other place like this.”

Now there’s only one thing left.

We need to squeeze out as much money as possible at the contract table tomorrow.

Gogun, who had organized the documents with a determined face, went to bed early.

* * *

The next day, at the CF contract negotiation table with Low Arts Sports.

“Haha… … Our Director Ko has really prepared a lot.”

The person referred to as the director by the Lowarts staff is none other than Koh Geon.

Koh Kun is usually satisfied with the title of manager, but when it comes to important external affairs, especially those involving ‘money’, he carries out his work with the title of director.

In fact, Koh Geon, a founding member of Pieroreum, was the head of the management team in charge of all the managers in the company during the early days of the company, and was delegated discretionary authority over major tasks related to celebrities by the CEO, so he could be said to be the actual director.

There was a reason why Goh Gun took on the role of manager of Kim Hyun Soo, who is currently enjoying the highest stock price in Piorum.

“So, I think… … I think we should start talking about unit prices. What are you thinking about in terms of rising prices?”

As I said before, this is Hyunsoo’s first CF contract.

If there had been a previous case, they would have offered the appearance fee based on the previous contract amount without asking, but now, it is literally a situation where whatever you call it is worth.

And Goh Geon’s expression when receiving questions from Lowarts was extremely relaxed.

No matter what anyone says, it is clear that the ‘advertiser’ is in a position of actual superiority in an advertising contract. However.

‘My brother’s popularity, which has been on the rise recently, has the power to reverse that.’

“Well, it’s not like a powerless entertainment company with only a few new actors can be the first to offer an appearance fee. Please tell me the amount you’re thinking of first.”

The Lowarts staff member nodded and opened his mouth.

“The industry standard is a one-year contract, with two ground appearances, two video appearances, and one event participation. I think the contract fee for this is around 150 million won. What do you think?”

The expression on the face of the practitioner who said that was confident.

This was because it was a one-time contract, not an exclusive contract, and it was a truly enormous sum for a first advertisement contract for a rookie actor who had only appeared in three works.

But Gogun is also smiling confidently.

Gogun handed over a piece of paper with a leisurely smile still on his face.

“Oh, is that so? We… … are thinking of it like this.”

It didn’t take long for the eyes of the practitioner reading the contract to fill with shock.

“400 million… …? Are you kidding me? Actor Kim Hyun-soo is an actor who has only been active for two years. Don’t you know that there are more people who can use this amount than Actor Kim Hyun-soo?”

Gogun nodded and answered.

“Of course. The entertainment industry is overflowing with stars. With 400 million won, it wouldn’t be a problem to sign a contract with an idol who is doing pretty well these days.”

“Why would someone who knows full well what’s going on make such an unreasonable deal… … .”

“Royal Arts has mainly used sports players as CF models so far, right?”

“… … That’s right.”

“And this is the first time you’ve hired an actor, not an athlete, as your advertising model.”

“… …What do you want to say?”

As mentioned earlier, Lowarts, which was acquired by Mujig, a fashion platform, is trying to expand its territory from a professional sportswear brand to a total fashion brand.

So, they are hiring actors, not athletes, and the advertisement request came to Kim Hyun-soo, who is currently the most up-and-coming actor.

“Sports stars usually reach their peak of potential once every four years, right? The Olympics last four years, the World Cup lasts four years, and there are many other competitions, but that’s about the only stage where they receive the spotlight of the entire nation.”

“… … .”

“But I’m not an actor. If I put my mind to it, I can go up on stage and sing in front of a third of the entire nation right now, like I did in this drama. Of course, not everyone can do it if they put their mind to it, but only in cases like our actor Kim Hyun-soo, who is getting a lot of love calls from all over the place.”

“… … .”

“It’s not just dramas or movies. If you’ve seen actor Kim Hyun-soo’s moves this year, you’ll know that he’ll get more attention than any other actor at the Red Dragon Film Festival at the end of the year and the Black Star Awards in the first half of next year. What if he wears sneakers from Lowarts, which is trying to expand into a total fashion brand? Wow, just imagining it is amazing.”

“… … It certainly sounds good, but is it okay to wear sneakers to places like award ceremonies?”

Gogun continued speaking with a frustrated expression on his face.

“Wouldn’t that make it even more of a hot topic? And, Hollywood stars can go up to the podium barefoot, so why can’t we? No, didn’t you see actor Sung Dong-jin come to the awards ceremony wearing a hiking outfit just two years ago?”

“… … Is that so?”

“And, I didn’t want to go that far. Do you know Editor Yoo Jin-sook?”

The one who responded to the name Yoo Jin-sook was another worker sitting next to Low Arts. He introduced himself as a worker who had applied from another team, but his true identity was probably… … .

‘This must be someone related to Mujig, which has become the parent company this time.’

There is no way that Mujig’s staff, who are most sensitive to the latest fashion trends, would not know Eugene Sook’s name.

“Did you know that actor Kim Hyun-soo’s photo was on the cover of the GML US Emmy Awards last year? Editor Yoo made all of that. And that’s not all? The tuxedo I wore during this Cannes appearance was also prepared by you.”

In short, Kim Hyun-soo was appealing that he is an actor who is currently receiving a lot of attention not only in the film and drama industries but also in the fashion industry.

“Haha, Editor Yoo really loves our actor. He even contacted us recently to ask if we wanted to do a fashion pictorial shoot… … .”

Oh my.

Soon, documents began to pour out of Gogun’s bag.

The documents were advertising request documents from numerous companies that had sent love calls to Kim Hyun-soo this time.

“Ah, why is this pouring out… … I’m sorry. Anyway, if you’ve seen the variety show, you’d know that our actor isn’t really interested in anything other than his work? I think he’ll be quiet about other advertising contracts for a while once he starts working on another project… … .”

In short, it is an opportunity that will not come easily in the future, not to mention that the image will not be consumed by other advertisements.

“And, this is a top secret… … Actor Kim Hyun-soo’s next work will probably be… … .”

“… … ?”

“It seems like it will be more action-oriented.”

“… … !”

The Lowarts staff began to get lost in Gogun’s words, as if they were possessed by a ghost.

So, after finishing the contract negotiations and going outside, Woo Ji-yoon’s phone call came as if she had been waiting for it.

―… … What? How much? 400 million? Didn’t you say you’d get 300 million from me? What on earth have you been doing?

“I thought they were beating up our brother’s value too much, so I quickly threw away the 400 million won contract I had prepared just in case. And this is what happened.”

―… … .

The silence continued for a while.

-Manager Ko, no, Director Ko. How about moving from management to the advertising team?

Gogun answered with a leisurely smile.

“Why are you doing this? I am the manager of the eternal Hyunsoo hyung.”

Continued in the next episode ▶