For stock investors, seeing authoritative, professional, timely, and comprehensive analyst research reports helps uncover potential thematic opportunities. Originally, when a young woman poked fun at the "old guard" at a product launch event, most people did not take it seriously. In this era, which group does not carry a few labels or have a few darts thrown at it? Women who believe in love are branded as gold-diggers or man-pleasers; women who do not believe in love are labeled as radical feminists; women who care for their original families are called "brother-supporting demons"; women who do not care for their original families are called ingrates. Men who believe in love are called simps; men who do not believe in love are called scumbags; men who care for their original families are called mama's boys; men who do not care for their original families are called unfilial. Children have fallen from angels to brats; the elderly group carries even more labels 鈥?square-dancing aunties, fossils, the bad who have merely grown old, coffin fodder, old guard, and more. Compared to an era where labels run wild and everyone has one or several labels stuck on their head, XPENG-W (09868) product manager Etta and product lead Yang Guang saying "old guard" a few times at a launch event and calling on people to reject "old-guard aesthetics" was not really a big deal. This old guard here shines brightly, reeks of old-guard smell, and is magnanimous enough not to take offense 鈥?not offended by XPeng's beautiful product manager, nor by XPeng itself. Everyone is out to make a living and grab some traffic; it is not shameful. If we do not buy their products, can we not let them make a few jokes? If we do not consume their products, can we not be consumed by them? Take it easy, take it easy. Moreover, XPeng does not have the power to reverse time and space. Whether you are old guard or not is up to you, right? Interestingly, on the 24th, XPeng Inc. (XPEV) vice president Yu Tao posted a long article on his social media account @Thomas Electric Train, responding to the whole process of the "old guard" wording incident at the XPeng MONA product manager Etta's launch event. He stated that from beginning to end, the term "old guard" was product team banter directed at a few internal core leaders, completely not aimed at any external users. "None of the several 'old guards' were displeased; instead, they repeatedly praised it internally." "The real internet peer culture may not be other companies' strict hierarchies, but the relaxation of young people daring to joke with their bosses." "The old guard is not off-putting; it is some people's old-guard smell that is disgusting. Let us have less criticism of the post-00s generation." This PR vice president's response is truly interesting 鈥?its old-guard smell is so abundant it overflows the screen. I seem to understand Etta's complaint: "How can the old guard understand what young people want?" I think XPeng's old guards not only do not understand what young people want, they do not even understand what old guards want. Working old guards are busy listening to reports, cleaning up after subordinates (metaphorically), traveling the world 鈥?they cannot even attend launch events, can only manage to glance at the launch PPT, cannot even control the scene. They are so busy... who would keep thinking about being called old guard by some brand a few days ago? Unemployed old guards are already in an offline state and are not your customer base, so how would they have the mood to care about these things? This PR vice president coming out to add fuel to the fire 鈥?is this really a response, or another round of traffic-chasing? This PR vice president also keeps saying, "The real internet peer culture may not be other companies' strict hierarchies, but the relaxation of young people daring to joke with their bosses." This logic is simply not worth refuting, but its deserving-to-be-scolded concentration is so high that one cannot help but ramble a few words. A launch event is held for the public, not a closed-door company meeting. Even internet companies should understand the difference between internal corporate narrative and public narrative, right? Whether internally there are hierarchies or relaxation is your business. Although you paid for the launch event, the information is disseminated to the public. Of course, calling them old guard can also be your communication strategy, but after grabbing traffic, coming out to perform internal relaxation is just meaningless. The melodramatic plot was spilled at the launch event 鈥?young people defeated "old-guard aesthetics," applause. Two days later, actually internally you are all loving and filial, you have no conflict, you are relaxed 鈥?and you want applause again? So the public (the public here does not refer to a certain brand) reaction is just crazy? The vice president's response contains a golden line: "The old guard is not off-putting; it is some people's old-guard smell that is disgusting. Let us have less criticism of the post-00s generation." I never imagined that such an old-guard-smelling sentence would appear in the guise of anti-old-guard. Your launch event attacked the old guard without reason or warning 鈥?that is relaxation? When the public gives feedback, it becomes "some people's old-guard smell is disgusting, let us have less criticism of the post-00s generation"? Only XPeng is allowed to scold the old guard, but the old guard is not allowed to glare at XPeng? XPeng scolding you is relaxation; you glaring at XPeng is old-guard smell. I almost want to repeat Etta's famous words 鈥?"Old guard" is not about age, but about criticizing that "unchanging design mindset," that "fixed thinking." When you attack others, it is relaxation; when others fight back, it is old-guard smell. First use the "young people vs old guard" narrative to harvest traffic and goodwill, then use "you do not understand internet culture" to shut critics up. This kind of double-standard "fixed thinking" is the unchanging old-guard smell. Speaking of this, I really feel some sympathy for Etta. No wonder she complained about the old guard at the launch event. Look at the vice president's response 鈥?this company XPeng really has a heavy old-guard smell internally. She could only at the launch event, through the external gap, speak the truth and show a bit of the company's internal "relaxation." As for "the real internet peer culture," do not make me laugh. Your PR team has had too much "internal repeated praise," and that bit of old-guard smell lingers, being inhaled and exhaled by you until it has gone stale.
Comments