The Crittenden Automotive Library

The worst press release ever - a Peugeot piano

Topics: Peugeot

The worst press release ever - a Peugeot piano

Matt Hubbard
Speedmonkey
January 26, 2013

Speedmonkey receives many press releases every day. Some are good, others aren't. We use those that interest us and don't bother when Caravan Monthly give an award to a Kia. This press release from Peugeot piqued our interest purely because it is neither boring nor contains a subject, or even a car, that interests us.

Instead, it's subject matter is a piano, and how someone from the X-Factor we've never heard of thinks it's great. How Peugeot ever thought Speedmonkey, or any motoring journal, thinks this is a good subject matter to be published we'll never know. Lets examine some classic hallmarks of faux fawning mutual adulation, flowery PR-speak, corporate clunkiness and hysterically bad use of minor celebrity to endorse something no petrolhead cares about.

General bollocks - This approach matches the life of Pleyel over the last ten years, explains Hubert Martigny, CEO of Maison Pleyel, in its desire to be open to design to the contemporary world. Moreover, Peugeot and Pleyel are both two hundred year old companies with a similar philosophy.

Minor celebrity endorsement by someone we've never heard of - X Factor sensation Ella Henderson debuted the Peugeot Design Lab Pleyel piano today in the UK with a one-off special performance. Ella, 17, showcased her extraordinary vocal and pianist abilities with an acoustic version of Cher’s ‘Believe’ as she evaluated the new piano

Words written by PR folk but attributed to minor celebrity - "The design of it is so different to anything I’ve played on before and while it comes from a company more recognised for their stylish cars, it looks so futuristic and sounds incredible. It definitely added something to my performance today. My emotions today were a mixture of excitement and nervous energy, but I was worried people might be paying more attention to the piano than me!”

Stuff that no-one cares about in the motoring world - For the first time in the history of the piano the audience can see the artist play from all frontal views, showing off the pianist’s hands and creating a higher level of sound response and interaction between them and the audience.

A Peugeot spokesman did not say, "The sensational Peugeot piano is not as good as the 80s Peugeot pianos. In 3 years time it will probably be worth about one quarter of it's current value. And the legs may fall off if its left outside in the winter."

Full press release below the picture of the X-Factor person with Peugeot piano.

ELLA HENDERSON DEBUTS THE PEUGEOT DESIGN LAB PLEYEL PIANO IN THE UK

X Factor star, Ella Henderson debuts the Peugeot Design Lab Pleyel piano in the UK
Peugeot Design Lab designed the piano for Pleyel – an established piano maker
The innovative piano design has many patented features which are the first for piano design in over 100 years

X Factor sensation Ella Henderson debuted the Peugeot Design Lab Pleyel piano today in the UK with a one-off special performance. Ella, 17, showcased her extraordinary vocal and pianist abilities with an acoustic version of Cher’s ‘Believe’ as she evaluated the new piano - an innovative design with patented features which are the first for a piano design in over 100 years.

Watch Ella’s performance of Cher’s ‘Believe’ on the Peugeot Design Lab Pleyel piano here: Launch video / Performance video

After performing on the Peugeot Design Lab Pleyel piano, Ella Henderson, said; “It’s been a real privilege to be one of the first performers to play on the Peugeot Design Lab Pleyel piano. The design of it is so different to anything I’ve played on before and while it comes from a company more recognised for their stylish cars, it looks so futuristic and sounds incredible. It definitely added something to my performance today. My emotions today were a mixture of excitement and nervous energy, but I was worried people might be paying more attention to the piano than me!”

Peugeot, most easily recognised for its cars, also has a wealth of expertise that comes from 200 years of industrial heritage and 120 years of acknowledged automobile manufacture. In June 2012, Peugeot launched the ‘Peugeot Design Lab’ in Paris – a global brand design studio whose vocation is the design of non-automotive products, services and experiences for the Peugeot brand and external clients in all business sectors.

The Peugeot Design Lab Pleyel piano marks the first design created by an expert team of designers, engineers and technicians. Its development required many months of research, study and tests to ensure the piano retained Pleyel’s high sound quality, while delivering a unique playing experience and innovative exterior.

The end result features a number of unique innovations now patented; for the first time in the history of the piano the audience can see the artist play from all frontal views, showing off the pianist’s hands and creating a higher level of sound response and interaction between them and the audience.

Notes to Editors:

The Peugeot Design Lab Pleyel Piano
The Peugeot Design Lab simultaneously develops products and brands in multiple worlds and this first project has just changed the conventions of the music world.

This approach matches the life of Pleyel over the last ten years, explains Hubert Martigny, CEO of Maison Pleyel, in its desire to be open to design to the contemporary world. Moreover, Peugeot and Pleyel are both two hundred year old companies with a similar philosophy.

After having created remarkable pianos with Andrée Putman, Michele De Lucchi and Hilton McConnico, Pleyel agreed to take up the challenge put forward by the Peugeot Design Lab. With a wide experience of working in Global Brand Design, the designers at the studio absorbed themselves in the history and expertise of Pleyel’s piano manufacturing, with the objective of finding common DNA and creating a unique piano that best expresses the talents of both companies: mixing century old traditional craftsmanship with the latest automotive technologies. For Cathal Loughnane, the Head of Peugeot Design Lab: “The objective was above all to be innovative, the goal was to develop an object that neither Peugeot nor Pleyel would have created independently.”

One and a half years after the idea was conceived, this shared adventure was completed with one of the biggest technical and visual innovations in the history of the piano.