After the Christmas holiday ended, Helen Herman began formal negotiations with representatives from the Mercedes-Benz Company. The negotiations lasted nearly three weeks, and an agreement was reached on all aspects.
In mid-January 2005, Matthew arrived at the Mercedes-Benz headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, to attend the signing press conference called by Mercedes-Benz.
In the past, the signing ceremonies he attended were confined to the entertainment industry, and the attending media reporters were mostly entertainment journalists. But this time, in addition to entertainment reporters from all over the world, there were also large numbers of financial and social affairs journalists.
For Matthew, this was a new experience.
Facing the numerous media reporters, he picked up a signing pen, signed his name on the "Contract," and then exchanged contracts with the executive representing Mercedes-Benz.
The two stood in front of the cameras and shook hands, and a flurry of flashlights went off.
"Mr. Matthew Horner always appears as a positive tough guy on the silver screen, and he has always been recognized by global movie fans as a hard-line male god. This collaboration between Mercedes-Benz and Mr. Matthew Horner will surely achieve a win-win outcome."
The Mercedes-Benz executive spoke briefly to the media reporters before leaving the stage, handing the spotlight over to Matthew, the spokesperson.
Following this, the reporters' questions were directed at Matthew.
A reporter from the local German newspaper Bild was the first to stand up and ask, "Mr. Matthew Horner, what are your thoughts on endorsing the Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV this time?"
When he filmed national treasure previously, Matthew had learned a few simple German phrases from Diane Kruger, but it was far from enough for a normal conversation.
He had put on his headphones just now, and the interpreter provided real-time translation.
After hearing the translation, Matthew replied without much thought, "When a man drives a car, you can tell his personality just by looking at what he drives. I like the feeling of conquering the road, so I only drive SUVs—that's my style. And the Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV is my favorite SUV."
As early as when the agreement was reached in Los Angeles, Mercedes-Benz had provided Matthew with two Mercedes-Benz G-Wagons, one black and one white. According to the contract, he must use a Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV when driving in the future, and if the situation is special, he must communicate with Mercedes-Benz beforehand.
Of course, when Matthew attends Crew events or premieres,
riding in vehicles provided by the officials is not included in this scope.
Even if Mercedes-Benz did not have such contractual clauses, Matthew would still have to use this series of vehicles frequently. Many things in America are overly complicated; the advertising law has rigid stipulations in this regard, treating celebrity endorsements as "testimonial advertisements," meaning the product endorser in the advertisement must be a genuine user of the product, or face fines.
The amount of the fines is very high, basically enough to wipe out the endorsement income of the penalized party.
This is also one reason why celebrities prioritize high-end brand endorsements. Take the two junk food brands Matthew turned down, for example—how many scandals do they break every year? At that time, not only would his reputation be implicated, but he would also likely face the dilemma of lawsuits.
Another reporter from the Munich Daily News then took the microphone, stood up, and asked, "Can you give an assessment of this vehicle?"
"The unique design of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV and its powerful off-road applicability perfectly suit my hobbies and style."
At this point, Matthew injected some timely humor, "Perhaps before long, you will see me driving a Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV, traversing through a hail of bullets to save the world."
A burst of good-natured laughter erupted in the news hall.
Matthew spread his hands and laughed, saying, "A tough guy like me isn't suited to drive those delicate cars."
Perhaps due to the excellent communication work done by the Mercedes-Benz Company, most of the media reporters' questions were relatively polite, and Matthew handled them easily. After answering more than a dozen questions, the signing press conference concluded.
Afterward, Matthew went backstage and handed the contract over to Helen Herman.
After conducting an assessment, the Mercedes-Benz Company signed a three-year advertising endorsement contract with Matthew for the G-Class SUV series, with the base endorsement fees structured incrementally at 5 million, 6 million, and 7 million US dollars.
There are also incentive measures, such as corresponding bonuses if the sales data of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class significantly improves during his endorsement period. Furthermore, if a film in which he serves as the lead actor surpasses 500 million US dollars in global box office revenue, there will be an additional bonus of 2 million US dollars, and 5 million US dollars if it reaches 1 billion US dollars.
In addition, Mercedes-Benz will actively sponsor films starring Matthew. If Matthew competes for the lead actor role in a film suitable for promoting this series of vehicles, the Mercedes-Benz Company will stand behind him.
In other words, if a film uses him as the lead actor, it will receive sponsorship from the Mercedes-Benz Company.
This will greatly increase Matthew's leverage in competing for lead actor roles.
Of course, this is also a win-win situation, as the Mercedes-Benz Company has always placed a significant amount of advertising in Hollywood films.
The selling price of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV series in North America is not particularly high; a starting price of 70,000 US dollars is enough to make many middle-class families potential customers.
Enjoying these benefits, Matthew naturally has obligations in many aspects.
Having to use the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon when driving is just the most basic requirement; the contract contains a series of other clauses.
Before June this year, he must cooperate with Mercedes-Benz to complete the advertisement shooting. In the following two years, as long as the Mercedes-Benz Company requires it, he is obligated to cooperate in shooting one advertisement per year.
Regarding business promotion, he must participate in at least one major promotional event for the Mercedes-Benz G-Class series annually.
In addition to this, the contract contains many restrictive clauses.
Within the strictly confidential Morality Clause, Mercedes-Benz has explicit stipulations for Matthew, requiring him, while serving as the spokesperson for the Mercedes-Benz G-Class series, not to accept roles as homosexuals or effeminate characters. If scandals regarding drug use or homosexuality surface, it will be considered a breach of contract, and Mercedes-Benz may unilaterally terminate the contract and seek liquidated damages.
However, these regulations do not involve male-female relationships.
On the one hand, this was the result of Helen Herman's negotiations. She understood Matthew and knew that after Britney, he had clearly changed and was unlikely to stay with one woman for too long.
On the other hand, a man driving a tough and wild car like this can only show his appeal by having more beautiful women accompany him.
In Matthew's own words, this car is definitely a tool for showing off.
The restrictions placed on Matthew as a spokesperson primarily stem from the Morality Clause.
Although this endorsement contract was signed in Germany, it is also filed in America and must comply with relevant American regulations. The Morality Clause within the advertising law must be observed even by Hollywood Stars.
The Morality Clause holds significant value for advertisers. Advertisements endorsed by celebrities generally have a greater impact than those without celebrity endorsements, especially for younger consumers.
When products, especially those with only a vague impression, are combined with celebrity endorsement, the celebrity's public image is easily transferred to the meaning of the product. Advertisers hope that the established affinity and credibility of the celebrity are transferred to the product, giving the product the same affinity and credibility, and thus stronger competitiveness.
However, "meaning transfer" can also be a double-edged sword. If an advertiser chooses an unsuitable spokesperson, it can transmit negative meaning to the product.
Therefore, advertisers who choose celebrity endorsements highly emphasize the celebrity's reliability, value, image, reputation, and publicity risk, because once a celebrity's image is damaged due to improper behavior, their product image will also suffer serious damage.
Thus, advertisers can use the Morality Clause to terminate the contract when necessary, thereby quickly severing the connection between the celebrity and the product in the minds of consumers.
Violation of the Morality Clause can serve as a legitimate reason for terminating a celebrity endorsement contract.
To conclude, this is similar to a basic employee contract: receiving a large income from the company naturally means not doing things that harm the company's interests.
Given the high liquidated damages, Matthew is very committed to the contract. He certainly won't accept roles like homosexuals or effeminate characters, and engaging in homosexuality in real life is even more impossible—he'd rather die. As for drug use, he has absolutely no interest in it.
The advertisement for this car is still being planned and will not be filmed currently. If filming is required, Mercedes-Benz will notify him one month in advance. After Matthew signed the endorsement contract with Mercedes-Benz and participated in two commercial promotion events, his work in Germany was basically concluded.
However, instead of immediately returning to Los Angeles with Helen Herman, he traveled alone to Munich, the central city of Southern Germany.
Several major promotional events for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany were being held here. As the host country for the 2010 World Cup event, South Africa also sent a delegation to warm up.
After Charlize Theron won the academy award for best actress, she completely changed her previous situation of being ignored. She is now treated as a national figurehead by South Africa, and she is generally brought in to participate in many activities requiring commercial promotion.
Currently, Charlize Theron is in Munich.
Matthew actually understood very well that representing a country in global events is highly beneficial for celebrities; it is arguably one of the best ways to enhance one's status.
Of course, this doesn't quite apply to native Hollywood Stars in America. For those native Hollywood Stars, if they don't oppose the Washington authorities, they are considered low-class.
Anyway, America is a bizarre country, and he finds it hard to understand these absurd and chaotic behaviors.
Upon arriving in Munich, Matthew first called Charlize Theron and, mentioning his two previous days of activities in Germany, told her directly that he was in Munich.
Charlize Theron was busy, but finally agreed to meet him that evening to attend a party hosted by the German Football Association.