Zhao Benshan's skit "Donation" has been rated as the worst skit of the year. This experience is unprecedented for Uncle Benshan, just like a bride riding in a sedan chair for the first time.
According to a report yesterday in the Wuhan Evening News, the three advertisements in Zhao Benshan's skit were priced respectively as follows: a certain website at 4 million yuan, a certain brand of liquor at 5 million yuan, and a certain tourist attraction at 3 million yuan, totaling over 10 million yuan. Rumors suggest that this advertising revenue was shared between CCTV and Benshan, with insiders claiming the split was close to fifty-fifty.
These rumors may not be true, but they also might not be false. In theory, CCTV has no right to demand that Zhao Benshan's skits include product placements. If you don't include some ads, would it really affect whether the skit passes review? In previous years, there haven't been any noticeable ads in Zhao Benshan's skits either.
Now, not only are there ads, but there are three of them. If you're going to include ads, you could at least put some thought into it or add some humor. The overly direct line, “a journalist sent by the 'Pao Gen Wen Di' program of a certain website,” was a failure! For viewers who have endured the earlier mediocre programs, their nerves already stretched thin by uninspired performances, waiting to be comforted by Zhao Benshan's golden medicine, they were disappointed. They expected a sweet dessert, but unexpectedly, master chef Mr. Zhao Benshan presented them with a hard, baked pancake that not only grinds the teeth but also has three flies buzzing around it.
The simple man from the relatively large city of Tieling, Zhao Benshan, has formed an interest-based community with CCTV. Zhao Benshan gains fame through CCTV and wins the affection of national TV audiences; CCTV sets up Zhao Benshan as a golden signboard, adding assurance to the Spring Festival Gala's ratings. Such an interest-based community is healthy and results in a win-win-win situation for CCTV, Zhao Benshan, and the audience, each party benefiting accordingly. However, this interest-based community has now taken on a different flavor, blatantly chasing commercial interests. CCTV and Zhao Benshan have made substantial profits, but the audience has been hurt. CCTV, which doesn't lack money, still finds ways to rake in cash during the grand spectacle of the Spring Festival Gala, where ad revenue exceeds 600 million yuan. You don't lack money anymore, but the quality of the gala has dropped; Zhao Benshan doesn't lack money either, shooting TV series, investing in football teams, yet still seeking "donations" in his own skits. You don't lack money anymore, but the quality of the programs has declined.