286 All Good Things
“There’s a lot more people here…” I muttered.
“You’re right. More people and younger people too…” Ace pointed out.
Looking around, I had to say that he was right. Although it was just a walk away from where we were and we were still in the shopping district, the crowd here was very different. The people around us were younger and they seemed more excited to see our commercial. Ace tugged on my hand and led me closer to the screen where our commercial was playing. A small crowd of people had gathered around the front of the screen, and I could tell that they were paying attention to our commercial.
Just like we did in front of the first point of display, we silently observed the reactions of the audiences and carefully listened in on their comments. I truly wanted to ask some of them a few questions about how they felt about our commercial but decided to do that a little later on in the evening when there were more people around. For now, it seemed like silently observing would be enough already.
“I guess the topic of dogs and pets is something that is easy for people to connect with generally…” I whispered softly to Ace.
“You’re probably right about that. I’m glad that the message seems to be getting across. It was the right decision to keep things simple,” Ace replied.
We split up for a moment to observe the audiences better. I was attracted to a young couple standing by because the young lady had her phone out and she seemed to be taking photos of the commercial. That truly piqued my interest, and I couldn’t control my urge to ask her about it.
“This seems like an interesting commercial. Do you like it too?” I asked with what I hoped was a friendly smile.
“Oh yes, I really like dogs and I have a few at home…” she replied with a smile of her own.
.....
I guessed I had just run into a pet lover. The guy standing next to her who must be her boyfriend turned and offered me a polite smile as well. It was clear that both of them must be pet lovers.
“Is that so? That’s great. I didn’t think that they would show something on the dog meat trade here of all places…” I said with a little laugh.
“It is a sensitive topic, I guess. Since the commercial isn’t showing any gruesome scenes and showing the love between a pet and its owner instead, I think that it’s not a bad idea to show it here. Unlike the other videos that we’ve seen promoting banning of the dog meat trade, this one isn’t hard to watch,” the girl replied.
“I guess you’re right. I hope you have a nice day!” I said cheerfully.
The couple smiled and waved a little at me as we parted. My heart was still beating fast in my chest from the adrenaline rush of hearing someone compliment my commercial. I wanted to let out a little squeal of delight although I knew that I had to try my best to hold it in. Getting positive responses and reviews from the critics is good and all that but nothing hits the spot like hearing live compliments directly from regular audiences.
I walked back a little to where we were standing before to see that Ace had not returned. After looking around, I spotted him talking to a man and figured that he had probably just started talking to the audience as well. I hoped that the man was giving some positive comments about our commercial. Of course, I knew that getting some negative reviews and constructive feedback would help us improve; however, I still preferred for us to get positive comments.
A group of students dressed in their uniform came to stand close to me and made me realize that school must have already ended quite some time ago. The group of high school girls chatted together while watching the commercial. I didn’t want to listen in to hear conversation but couldn’t help hearing many comments about the dog in our commercial looking cute and very furry. I wasn’t sure if the entire message on the dog meat trade got to the girls or not but it wasn’t bad to hear them compliment the dogs in our commercial. I recalled that the dogs were indeed very well-behaved and cute during the shoot as well.
“Rina…” I heard Ace call my name from close behind me.
“Oh, I saw you chatting to someone, so I didn’t want to disturb,” I said as I turned to face him.
The crowd around us had gotten larger and the sidewalks had become more packed with people. Evening would arrive soon, and the shopping district would be flooded with people at this rate. This was one of the reasons why placing a commercial in this place was very costly but also very effective in reaching many audiences.
“He had some interesting feedback. Nothing negative, though…” Ace replied with a grin.
“I haven’t heard any negative reviews yet. Maybe our commercial is just that good…” I replied teasingly.
“Shall we go to another place?” Ace suggested.
“There’s another placement around here?” I asked with some surprise.
“Not just another one. There are actually a couple more…” Ace replied before taking my hand into his.
“Julianna and her magic…” I mumbled with pleasant surprise.
“Julianna and her magic indeed…” Ace repeated my words in agreement as he continued to pull me along.
“There’s so many people here now…” I said observantly.
“That’s right. Don’t let go of my hand, I don’t want us to get separated,” Ace warned, and his hand tightened around mine.
I stared down at his larger hand holding mine as Ace continued to lead me through the crowd to our next destination. For a moment, I forgot all about the commercial and what work we were supposed to be doing there. My heart skipped a beat, and I couldn’t stop smiling because I just felt so giddy inside just to be walking around with Ace in one of the city’s most popular dating spots.
–To be continued…
