Watching the ever-growing buzz online, Louise didn't even know what to say anymore. As usual, she could only wonder—what exactly was different about her boss's brain? Why did Laila always come up with such strange and bizarre ideas?
To that, Laila could only respond with a cheeky smile in her heart: Tremble before the invasion of Eastern culture, dear!
Soft articles had existed since the early days of the internet. Back then, the main online activities were instant messaging and games, followed by the rise of internet forums—and that's where soft articles found their use.
Did the West have soft articles too? Absolutely!
Take "brainwashing soft articles," for example.
There's a Western joke about this. A Chinese propaganda official once asked an American host, "Do you brainwash your citizens in America?"
The American confidently replied, "Of course not. Ask anyone, and they'll all say no."
The Chinese official nodded: "Good. That's exactly the answer I wanted."
There were tons of soft articles in the West as well, especially in business marketing. But in the film industry? Not so much—at least not at this point. Most of the time, it was just film critics saying a few nice things... okay, fine, that technically counts as soft articles too.
Anyway, this time, Laila had her paid posters flooding popular websites and forums with soft articles promoting The Avengers. Her goal was to make the film's title a phenomenon—have it "narrated" by countless voices, creating a shared sense of buzz and resonance that would attract widespread attention.
And it was working. But movie lovers didn't necessarily frequent those sites. Many box office contributors weren't closely connected to the internet—especially older folks. And those people were potential viewers too—viewers she needed if she wanted to break records.
From the old to the young, no demographic could be left out. That meant tailoring the promotion in every direction: appearing on talk shows to reach housewives, placing ads in various major media outlets to target working adults, and using little tricks to appeal to students—like printing superhero images on fast-food packaging.
Don't underestimate these small gestures—their impact was significant.
To keep the momentum going, The Avengers' official website regularly released new trailers and high-resolution wallpapers for fans to download and collect.
This made superhero fans thrilled—they kept coming back to collect the new images and, in doing so, continually reinforced their anticipation for the movie. The more often they visited, the deeper the film embedded itself in their minds.
Laila was dead serious about breaking Avatar's box office record. So, she broke from her usual behind-the-scenes style and, for the first time, stepped into the spotlight. During more than two months of intense promotion, she appeared on several talk shows and gave over twenty interviews to various media outlets—something completely unthinkable for her in the past.
Even when the crew went abroad for promotions, she greeted fans via remote video. And in some key markets, she flew over with the promo team and did multiple local interviews herself.
Such an unusually high level of activity surprised not just outsiders, but even her staff.
In the lead-up to the film's release, Janet had to book an appointment just to see Laila—otherwise, even as her mother, she might not get a chance.
If the media had mocked her bold claims when she finished the script in two weeks and wrapped filming in a few months, then now, after seeing her throw herself into promotions, they were starting to have doubts.
After all, everything about the film screamed "epic flop"—a rushed script, a lightning-fast shoot, and even the visual effects were completed in under a year!
Sure, with Laila's reputation, people might be willing to throw her some box office support. But to say she'd break historical records? That was simply impossible in their eyes.
And yet, here she was—Laila Moran, a woman who usually avoided the limelight—suddenly appearing in interviews and doing commercials! Did that mean she genuinely believed in this movie and was going all-in to conquer the box office?
That theory started gaining traction. After all, if she didn't believe in the film, why else would someone like her fly all over the world doing promotions? And if not for a shot at a massive box office return, why accept so many interviews across the globe?
Still, media outlets were offering a different opinion. Their stance was clear: Laila had made a terrible film—so terrible that she was now desperate to promote it. Just look at her previous successes—barely any publicity at all. She was so unsure of the current film's performance that she was willing to run herself ragged trying to minimize the losses.
Some people bought into that theory, too.
As a result, debates broke out across every possible discussion platform: Was Laila's new film an epic disaster, or a record-smashing masterpiece that could dethrone Avatar?
When Laila heard that her promotional efforts had unintentionally sparked such debate, she could only feel exasperated. Guess that's what they mean by accidentally planting a willow tree and ending up with a shady grove. Her intense travel and appearances were indeed meant to boost attention and drive ticket sales—she just hadn't expected people to focus on her for once.
What else could she say? Maybe she only had herself to blame. She had been so lazy before—rarely participating in promotions and always delegating the task to actors and crew members.
But it was no exaggeration to say that Laila had fans all over the world. In almost every country she visited, fans were waiting at the airport to greet her, and the hotels she stayed in were surrounded by crowds. No matter where she promoted the movie, she instantly became the most talked-about person in that country. Her appearances dominated local trending topics for days.
By May, Laila had already arrived in the East with her team—a booming new box office market.
She stayed there the longest—not only because she liked it, but also because the country was so vast that she needed to visit several cities for effective promotion.
At the same time, she also had to coordinate with her affiliated companies to make sure more premium screens would be available for her movie during its release.
And let's not forget—Laila owned a theater chain in the East that made Hollywood green with envy. Although the expansion had slowed in recent years, it was still ongoing. Not just in Tier 1, 2, or 3 cities—even in smaller Tier 4 and below cities, her theaters were present.