The afterglow of " The Youth Here " is still lingering, and Cheng Che's trending topics haven't subsided. Nike's official announcement has instantly caused his popularity to soar once again.
Countless celebrities wailed in despair upon seeing that official announcement on Weibo.
Nike Greater China Brand Ambassador.
This title is a top-tier commercial asset for any celebrity.
In the entire Xia Country's entertainment industry, the number of celebrities who have ever secured an endorsement at this level can be counted on one hand.
Now, it belongs to a nineteen-year-old college student.
Weibo exploded within half an hour.
Cheng Che's fans flooded Nike's official Weibo comment section, leaving message after message.
Nike has great taste! Choosing Cheng Che was definitely the right decision!
I used to wear Adi, but starting today I'm switching to Nike.
Cheng Che looks so handsome in Nike shoes, I want to buy the same ones!
[You guys finally made it official! I've been waiting for so long!!!]
Nike, you know how to pick people; Cheng Che is the perfect fit.
From today onwards, my shoe closet will only contain Nike.
Then the wealthy female fans started showing off their purchases.
An ID named " Che Baby's Little Treasury " posted a screenshot of a purchase.
The screenshot shows an order from Nike's official website, including shoes, clothes, and pants, totaling over ten thousand yuan.
The caption was just one sentence. "Support Che Baby."
After this Weibo was published, the comment section was flooded with "Hello, rich lady!"
Following that, even more customer reviews appeared.
Some people bought over 5,000 yuan worth of shoes on the official website, some bought two large bags of shoes from physical stores, and some replaced all of their family's sneakers with Nike.
A fan posted a Weibo with a picture of her shoe closet, showing that she had replaced all her shoes, from high heels to sneakers, with Nike.
"If I can't afford an LV bag that costs tens of thousands, can't I afford Nike? I'm going to wear clothes anyway, so I might as well buy what my idol endorses."
In the super topic, posts kept coming one after another.
[I went to the Nike store today, and the sales assistant said that since Cheng Che's official announcement, the store has been several times more crowded than usual.]
I bought three pairs of shoes: one pair for myself, one pair for my mom, and one pair for my brother.
I changed my boyfriend's shoes too. He asked, "Who's Cheng Che?" I told him, "Just wear them."
[My classmate isn't a fan of celebrities, but today I saw her wearing a new pair of Nike. I asked her how she bought them, and she said Cheng Che is the spokesperson and they look good.]
[There are four people in our dorm, and three of them bought the same item.]
Nike's sales are going to explode this time!
On Xiaohongshu and Douyin, posts showing off the purchase results are flooding the screen.
Some people filmed unboxing videos, some posted outfit photos, and some took photos of Cheng Che's advertisement posters alongside the shoes they bought.
A passerby posted a Weibo with a complicated tone:
"I'm not a fan of Cheng Che, but I passed by Nike store today and it was packed with people. I asked around, and they were all there to buy the same items Cheng Che wears. Their enthusiasm is astounding."
Someone in the comments section replied to her, "These are Cheng Che's fans. You don't understand."
Half an hour later, photos of the advertising screens across Xia Country were uploaded to Weibo.
The Nike flagship store in Sanlitun, Capital City, has replaced the entire exterior wall with posters of Cheng Che.
At the Nike store on Nanjing Road Magic City, a huge photo of Cheng Che wearing the same sneakers is displayed in the window.
Nike stores and advertising screens in dozens of cities across China, including Guangzhou's Tianhe District, Shenzhen City's MixC, Rongcheng's Chunxi Road, and Hang City's Hubin Yintai, have simultaneously changed to feature Cheng Che's image.
What makes celebrities and fans grit their teeth in hatred the most is Nike's official live stream.
The live stream room has been renamed.
It was changed to: [Thanks to Cheng Che, Nike is great again!]
The moment this headline appeared, celebrities and their fans were in an uproar.
[What the hell??? Why are you fawning over a spokesperson like this???]
[ Nike, are you crazy? You're a major international brand, is this for real???]
"Make America Great Again"??? Weren't you great before???
[This is way too much of a bootlicking move, Nike, do you think this is okay???]
[I'm speechless. What kind of spell did Cheng Che cast on them?]
This isn't an endorsement; it's like they've brought in a sugar daddy to worship.
Does Nike think this is good?
Nike thinks it's fantastic.
The head of Greater China is an United States named Mark.
Half an hour after the official announcement, he sat in his office, staring at the sales data in the backend, and suddenly jumped up from his chair.
How much did it go up?
The assistant's voice trembled. "Ten times. In just half an hour, online sales have increased tenfold compared to usual. And they're still rising."
Mark stared at the screen and took a deep breath.
ten times.
He has worked in the sports brand industry for twenty years and has witnessed the sales growth brought about by various celebrity endorsements.
For a normal celebrity endorsement announcement, a sales increase of 100% is considered excellent.
Three times is the highest level.
Ten times? He'd never seen that before.
Furthermore, he browsed the comments section and found that many of the people who placed orders were women.
They didn't buy the cheapest entry-level model; they bought the same model as Cheng Che.
Those styles are all priced above one thousand, some even over two thousand.
"These fans..." Mark muttered, looking at the data, "They're so rich."
He recalled the day LV made its official announcement, when Cheng Che's fans commented, "I can't afford an LV piece that costs tens of thousands."
But now he understands, it's not that they can't afford it, it's that LV's unit price is too high, so few people buy it.
Nike products have low unit prices, so many people buy them, and they often buy several at a time.
All together, it's no less impressive than LV.
Moreover, these fans are extremely loyal.
The comments section was full of messages like "I came for Cheng Che," "Support Che Baby," and "I'll only wear Nike from now on."
Mark leaned back in his chair and smiled.
He recalled that when Cheng Che was first signed, some people at headquarters questioned whether he deserved the title of spokesperson for the Greater China region.
He signed it under pressure at the time.
Because he watched Cheng Che's competitions and also saw his performance on " Walking the Flower Road Together ".
This person naturally attracts attention; in the parlance of the Xia Country's entertainment industry, they're like a "heaven-sent star."
Now he has proven it.
He picked up the phone and sent an email to headquarters.
The email contained only one line. " Cheng Che's endorsement performance has far exceeded expectations. We recommend increasing his offer when renewing the contract and considering upgrading him to a global brand ambassador."
The atmosphere is completely different in the offices of Adidas, Puma, and ASICS.
The head of Adidas Greater China sat in the conference room, his face ashen.
On the screen in front of him were the sales figures following Nike's official announcement.
He looked at them for a long time, then looked up and scanned the room with everyone present.
Who was in charge of contacting Cheng Che in the first place?
A middle-aged man stood up, his forehead covered in sweat.
"Yes, it's me."
How much did you report?
"I..." The man's voice trailed off, "I bid three million. Regional endorsement."
The person in charge took a deep breath.
"Three million. Regional endorsement." He repeated, his tone flat, but each word like a nail. "You're offering three million for a regional endorsement deal to negotiate for an LV Asia-Pacific ambassador, Rolex ambassador, a Gucci brand ambassador, or Australian Open Champion?"
The man lowered his head even further.
"At the time, I thought he was a newcomer, and since we were the client, he should..."
"What do you think?" the person in charge interrupted him. "What do you think? You're making decisions based on 'what you think'? Do you know that Nike's stock has increased tenfold in just half an hour? Do you know how many wealthy women are among Cheng Che's fans? Do you know what we've missed?"
The meeting room was quiet; no one dared to speak.
The person in charge leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
"Go out."
The man slunk away.
On Weibo, Nike's official account posted another update.
This isn't an official announcement; it's data.
"Thank you Cheng Che for becoming Nike's Greater China brand ambassador. Within half an hour of the official announcement, Nike's online sales increased tenfold year-on-year. The Cheng Che -endorsed collection became one of the fastest-selling ambassador collections in Nike's history. Let's run together in the future."
The accompanying image is Cheng Che's advertisement photo.
The number of comments exceeded 100,000 within ten minutes.
[Ten times!!! What does that even mean!!!]
Cheng Che's fans are amazing, I'm impressed.
I donated two pairs of shoes; it's not much, but the thought is what counts.
Nike, you've hit the jackpot! Be nicer to Cheng Che from now on!
[Even among the top four celebrities, no one has ever achieved this level of commercial value.]
Cheng Che alone generates sales equivalent to an entire team.
[I hereby declare that, from this day forward, Cheng Che is the most commercially valuable celebrity in Xia Country.]
Meanwhile, on the twelfth floor of that new residential building in Spring City, Jiang Xue sat on the sofa, holding her phone and browsing Nike's official website.
Cheng Che came out of the room and saw her choosing shoes.
"Mom, what are you doing?"
"I'll buy you a few pairs of shoes." Jiang Xue said without looking up, "A New Year's gift."
Cheng Che glanced at the shopping cart on her phone screen; four pairs of shoes were already there.
"No need to buy any more," he said. " Nike sent over a ton from Capital City. Shoes, clothes, pants—we can't possibly wear them all."
Jiang Xue looked up at him and blinked.
How much was given away?
Several boxes.
Jiang Xue thought for a moment, then deleted two of the four pairs of clothes from her shopping cart.
"Then buy two pairs for your dad."
Cheng Che smiled helplessly and sat down next to her.
"Okay, do as you please."
In his apartment, in his Capital City home which he hadn't yet returned to, there were indeed several boxes of things sent by Nike.
Shoes, clothes, pants, hat, socks, and even a pair of sunglasses.
They're all Cheng Che's size, all the same styles he wore in the official promotional posters.
Cheng Che wants to wear it, he doesn't even need to buy it.
But then he suddenly sighed.
Because Nike officially announced that he will have to start working earlier than usual after the Spring Festival.
"I'm destined to be a workaholic."