4 PM.
New York, Fifth Avenue.
Located in Manhattan, it is one of America's most iconic landmarks, as globally renowned as the Statue of Liberty. Every day, tourists from all over the world flock here; local Americans also spend, work, and shop here... At this moment, a large white van-type truck was parked there.
It attracted the attention of many people.
"Huh?"
"Didn't they say no parking here?"
"Buddy, you're right, and large trucks like this aren't allowed on Fifth Avenue at all."
"Where are the police? Isn't anyone going to do anything?!"
The tourists and locals were genuinely curious.
Bang~~!
Just then, all the advertising screens on Fifth Avenue lit up!
"Sparta~!"
"Whoosh! Sparta~!"
Hundreds of large and small advertising screens, as they all lit up, immediately erupted in an astonishing roar.
The iron-blooded roar was enough to make everyone's adrenaline surge!
All the advertising screens displayed a unified image—a battlefield!
This was a pre-shot battlefield scene by director Zack Snyder before he officially filmed "300," showcasing Spartan warriors fighting against the Persian invasion.
Cold weapons, fervent blood, screams... warhorses, monsters, and warriors all appeared!
"Wow!"
"Oh my God,
What movie is this?"
"Such a bloody, tough-guy movie!"
The tourists and locals on Fifth Avenue were instantly ecstatic.
Boom boom boom!
Just then, the back door of the white, large van-type truck, which had already attracted attention, was suddenly violently opened.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A tall, strong man, bare-chested, wearing only red shorts and a red cape, holding a weapon, stepped out of the truck.
This instantly caught everyone's attention.
Not only that, after the burly man at the front descended, one muscular tough guy after another, also bare-chested, emerged from the van.
"Sparta~!"
"Sparta! Sparta! Sparta~!"
A full 30 muscular tough guys, holding their spears high, roared loudly amidst countless onlookers. Coupled with the soundtrack emanating from the hundreds of screens around them, the entire Fifth Avenue scene was transformed into a fierce battlefield.
Blood-boiling!
"God, what's going on?!"
"Good heavens, 20 tough guys wearing only red shorts and holding weapons!"
"They're all so strong, not a single one under 1.8 meters tall!"
The shouts of "Sparta" indeed greatly piqued the interest of the surrounding crowd, but just as they were about to investigate, the 20 Spartan warriors suddenly rushed back into the van.
The truck drove away!
The tough guys were gone too!
They came in a hurry and left in a hurry.
Only a crowd full of questions remained on the scene.
"Buddy, what's going on? What are they doing? Are they promoting men's underwear or a movie? Why did they just shout a few times and then suddenly leave?!" a tourist couldn't help but ask.
Flash mob!
This was a flash mob!
In the late 90s, where had Americans seen this before?
Instantly, many people present became interested and wanted to investigate, to find out what exactly was going on... Los Angeles, Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Muscular men, each wearing red shorts, suddenly appeared in many people's sights.
"Sparta~!"
"Fight for Sparta, warriors!"
"Our sacrifice will forever be praised by the world!"
"My glory is loyalty; dying on the battlefield, we will have supreme glory!"
"There are only dead Spartans, never Spartans who bow down and surrender to the enemy!"
"Sparta, forward! Forward! Forward~!"
One by one, the blood-pumping tough guys let out roars, making many people on the scene feel their blood boil, and then they quickly left, leaving no trace.
Many people were instantly bewildered!
...Besides Los Angeles and New York, "flash mobs" also appeared in Boston, Miami, San Francisco, Washington, Chicago, and other places.
Red shorts;
Sparta;
Tough guys;
Flash mob;
These four keywords instantly became hot topics among the public in America, with its developed internet and media industries.
They were very interested and eager to know everything!
Under these circumstances, the launch ceremony and press conference for "300 Spartans" were directly presented to everyone.
"Flash mob?"
Kyle stood on the podium, addressing the media reporters, and said loudly: "That's right, it was us, Page Pictures! We are promoting a new film, promoting '300 Spartans,' this war hero movie!"
As his words fell, hundreds of media outlets present were stunned.
Even though they had seen countless storms, they had never seen a promotional method similar to the "flash mob" model. Judging from today's online buzz, they could already predict that "300" would be a hit before it even premiered!
"This is simply a genius promotional tactic!" a reporter exclaimed.
Those around him couldn't help but nod in agreement.
Flash mobs, which became a common promotional tactic in the 21st century, were practically unheard of in the late 90s. Kyle could be said to be the first to try it, and naturally, the effect was outstanding.
In the original timeline, Warner Bros. Entertainment, the production company of "Harry Potter," was the first to try it.
They gathered a large group of fans, dressed them as little wizards in black robes holding small wands, and staged flash mob scenes in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and various parts of America, attracting countless onlookers from all over the world.
Undoubtedly, the "flash mob," still in its novel stage, was indeed incredibly powerful!
Of course, flash mobs weren't something you could just do anywhere.
In places like New York's Fifth Avenue and Los Angeles' Hollywood Walk of Fame, if you hadn't reported to the relevant authorities in advance and paid for the venue, you would definitely be taken away by the police afterward!
Just the flash mob on New York's Fifth Avenue, lasting only a few minutes, cost the "300" crew 200,000 US dollars.
The total cost of "flash mobs" in other parts of America also exceeded 2 million US dollars. The manpower involved, from start to finish, was over 900 people!
However, the promotional effect created by the flash mob was absolutely something that 20 million US dollars of conventional methods couldn't achieve.
Furthermore, the current high level of public discussion is something that money might not even be able to accomplish.
"300 Spartans" was a hit before it even premiered!
"Ladies and gentlemen, '300 Spartans,' meticulously crafted by Page Pictures, is bound to ignite all of America by this time next year and bring the flames of war to the entire world!"
"I said it!"
"You heard me right, after '300 Spartans' is released, the three words 'Sparta' will be globally renowned, known by everyone!"
"I said it!"
"The Battle of Thermopylae, which lies dormant from 2000 years ago, the battle of 300 Spartan warriors against hundreds of thousands of Persian troops, will be completely recreated by us. Blood, fighting spirit, glory, loyalty, and unyielding spirit will all be presented!"
"I said it!"
At this moment, Kyle no longer had the demeanor of a billionaire; he transformed into a Spartan warrior, passionately and excitedly narrating and shouting on the podium.