Lu Gaoxuan is from Gan Province, a university graduate, currently working at an architectural design institute in Hongdu.
Having just become a full-time employee this year, he was planning where to travel for May Day to celebrate.
How do young people choose travel destinations?
Of course, by searching online and asking questions on Tieba!
However, just as he opened his computer and was trying to click on a target website, the large advertisement banner above hao123, proclaiming "The First SUV for Young People," caught his attention.
What car?
Such a bold claim, "The first SUV for young people"?
Do you know how expensive SUVs are?
How many people can afford one?
Out of curiosity, Lu Gaoxuan clicked on the advertisement.
The commercial began, showing a compact SUV shuttling through the city.
Its red body and small design looked somewhat cute.
It didn't look like an SUV because it was too small, but its styling was indeed that of an SUV.
"Zhongtai 2008? Never heard of it, let me search for it,"
Lu Gaoxuan muttered as he watched.
Hmm, like Chery and Geely, it's also a domestic brand, headquartered in Yongkang, Zhejiang Province.
Lu Gaoxuan, who had been drawn in, lost much of his interest halfway through the commercial after learning it was a domestic brand.
Influenced by joint-venture brands, although many domestic brands have emerged over the years, in terms of acceptance, regardless of whether they have a desire to buy a car, the first impression in everyone's mind is still joint-venture brands.
Over the years, whether actively or passively, domestic brands have left a less than favorable impression on consumers.
They've either been sued for plagiarism by joint-venture brands or exposed for poor quality.
Young people, especially those who frequent the internet, have almost all mocked domestic car brands at some point.
Lu Gaoxuan was no exception; he was merely curious and had no immediate plans to buy a car.
However, since he had clicked on it, he didn't mind watching.
It would only take a few minutes, he thought, to see how it was advertised and what the price was.
To dare to promote it as "The First SUV for Young People," it must have some confidence, right?
The eight-minute official commercial presented a lot of flashy information, which was somewhat redundant for those unfamiliar with cars, but quite interesting for young people who generally have some knowledge of vehicles.
When it comes to buying cars, most young people might not be able to afford them, but when it comes to understanding cars, many car owners might not know as much as they do.
If you want to buy a car in a certain price range, asking them for recommendations is definitely the way to go.
"Isn't this just the Toyota Terios? It looks exactly like it, and they claim independent intellectual property rights? They're really good at boasting."
"Oh, actually, they might not be boasting. They bought the production line, so that counts, I guess. This company is alright, not claiming independent design."
"1.3L, 1.5L can also be called an SUV? Alright, alright, the Terios was originally a compact SUV, and a compact SUV is still an SUV. Speaking of compact SUVs, it seems domestic brands haven't actually produced one before?"
"Mainly for leisure? That makes sense, after all, for something so small, if you claim it has a lot of horsepower, that would be pure bragging."
"Holy crap! Starting from 43,800 yuan? Plus a 3,000 yuan discount for the first batch of buyers? Doesn't that mean you can buy one for 40,000 yuan? What was the lowest price for the Terios again? Let me check."
"My goodness, it starts at 98,800 yuan? It's a full 60,000 yuan cheaper! Awesome, this price."
The eight-minute commercial quickly finished playing amidst Lu Gaoxuan's complaints.
From his initial disdain to his shock at seeing the price, Lu Gaoxuan sat in front of his computer, having completely forgotten why he had opened it in the first place.
"Damn it, that's incredible, you can buy a car for 40,000 yuan? And an SUV?"
Lu Gaoxuan muttered to himself, stroking his chin.
Domestic cars have their fair share of issues, but this price is hard to resist.
What if I got one for a road trip?
Seems like a pretty good idea, right?
As a newly full-time designer, whose workplace was inland, Lu Gaoxuan naturally didn't have 40,000 yuan in savings.
However, this didn't mean he couldn't afford it.
The real estate industry he worked in had seen significant development in recent years, and his job was very stable.
If he couldn't pay upfront, he could always do installments.
For him, this wasn't a pressure at all.
"This price is damn appealing. 40,000 yuan! A single electric bicycle costs 4,000 yuan. You can trade 10 electric bicycles for an SUV, isn't that outrageous?"
A few days ago, while browsing online, Lu Gaoxuan had also seen an electric bicycle called Fengchi Guanneng.
It was truly beautiful, but not cheap, with a top price of 3,999 yuan.
Most people really couldn't afford that price.
If he just endured a bit, took the bus or rode his bicycle, he could save up enough to buy this Zhongtai on installments.
It must be said, Lu Gaoxuan was tempted.
This price was truly appealing.
He worked in Hongzhou, but his hometown was Shangrao, and having a car would make going home more convenient, as well as commuting to and from work daily.
"I'll go to the Car Tieba, post a question to see what everyone thinks, and gain some experience while I'm at it."
However, when Lu Gaoxuan entered the Car Tieba, the entire screen was already filled with discussion posts about the Zhongtai 2008.
"Holy crap? Is it that exaggerated? Is this car really that hot?"
Lu Gaoxuan was a bit bewildered.
The term 'internet astroturfing' gradually became known to netizens only after CCTV's Focus Report aired in 2010, at which point people also became aware of this profession.
In 2006, there was no such concept as 'internet astroturfing' online.
In those years, celebrities were still bickering on blogs, Weibo wouldn't appear until 2009, and netizens were relatively pure.
Therefore, there weren't many astroturfers, but Tan Jincheng was quite skilled at using this tactic.
From the initial promotion of the Shanchi series, starting with Gu Qingqing recruiting some soft article writers in school, Tan Jincheng had already begun to cultivate personnel.
Now, Shanchi Technology has a professional internet publicity team.
These personnel would not officially belong to Shanchi Technology, but would serve Shanchi Technology, which is what later generations commonly referred to as 'raising astroturfers.'
While it was a bit underhanded, in later times, large companies basically all had their own astroturfers; this was an unspoken fact.
To control internet public opinion, Shanchi Technology certainly couldn't avoid this kind of gray area.
Tan Jincheng was not a moral paragon, and he wouldn't shy away from using a known effective tool.
What he could do was, to the best of his conscience, not use these information asymmetries to deliberately smear competitors.
Of course, if the opponent made a move, Tan Jincheng would also counterattack without hesitation.
After all, when it comes to playing the internet game, the tricks used 10-odd years later would be much dirtier than now.
For this Zhongtai promotion, after seeing Shanchi Technology's recent successful campaigns, Ying Jianren asked Tan Jincheng for advice.
While providing specific suggestions, Tan Jincheng also deployed Shanchi Technology's astroturfing team.
Since it was 'The First SUV for Young People,' in addition to print and television media, it was natural to heavily advertise online, where young people gathered, focusing on Zhongtai's price and discounts.
While generating buzz, and with the cooperation of Shanchi Technology's astroturfers, posts were extensively made in the car sections of major discussion forums and communities, further amplifying the already trending topic.
A team with rich experience in replying to posts, working collectively, naturally had an efficiency that ordinary netizens couldn't match.
When someone questioned if Zhongtai's promotion was overly exaggerated and couldn't compare to joint-venture cars, comments like "It's only 40,000 yuan, what more do you want?" would appear below.
"Exactly, it's not like it can't be driven. Although domestic cars currently have some minor issues, they are, after all, our own brand. You have to give them a chance to improve. Besides, for 40,000 yuan, it's nearly 40,000 cheaper than a joint-venture car of the same series. You could buy two of them!"
"Anyone who says the quality is bad must be out of their mind. The price of one car in the same series can buy two of these. Assuming a Toyota Terios lasts 10 years, and my Zhongtai lasts five, I'd still save 60,000 yuan. Couldn't I just get a new one or a different brand then?"
"Plagiarism? Bro, they bought the entire production line. They explicitly stated independent intellectual property rights. Do you know what independent intellectual property rights mean? It means even if it's identical, it doesn't matter, they won't sue you. Plus, it's cheap."
"Anyway, I plan to buy one this year. I can drive it home for Chinese New Year. I no longer want to wake up at four or five in the morning during the Spring Festival travel rush to queue at the train ticket office, and even then, I might not get a ticket!"
"Haha, I have that plan too. May Day is coming soon, so a short road trip should be nice. I just wonder if it will be available for sale by May Day."
"I want to buy one too. This car should be good for daily commuting, and parking would be convenient."
"Are you all that rich? Buying a car just like that? You guys aren't shills, are you?"
"I can't pay the full amount, but installments wouldn't be a problem for me. I just started at a new factory this year, and the salary is decent. I eat and live at the factory, and there aren't many places to spend money usually. Saving up 30,000 a year wouldn't be an issue, so installments are definitely doable."
"Brother upstairs, where do you work? You can save 30,000 a year? What factory has such good benefits?"
"Here in Beicang, Yongcheng. I won't say which factory, but it's quite hard to get in, and the turnover rate is extremely low. My cousin has been waiting for two months and hasn't gotten an opportunity."
"Damn it, it still pays less than just tightening screws. Didn't they say all factories are black-hearted? Now I even want to join a factory."
Lu Gaoxuan browsed through all the major communities, seeing many such comments.
At the same time, he had seen all versions of Zhongtai's advertisements: on urban main roads, on highways, and in rural muddy areas.
The most discussed topic was undoubtedly Zhongtai's price, the starting price of 40,000 yuan.
Any young person with a bit of financial capability was very tempted, including Lu Gaoxuan.
Time passed unknowingly.
Lu Gaoxuan, who had originally just wanted to ask where to travel for May Day, had been engrossed in an online debate with 'silly netizens' about Zhongtai cars for over an hour.
In over an hour, Lu Gaoxuan had come to accept Zhongtai's advertising slogan.
"The first SUV for young people, no problem. Buy it!"
(End of chapter)