The pleasure of driving has been at the heart of Peugeot’s strategy for the past 200 years. The new global campaign launching today helps Peugeot stand out in a crowded market by enhancing the brands’ cultural capital and valorizes the technical fineness of its cars through an artistic performance.
BETC Paris called on RIOPY, a composer and pianist, known for his work on Oscar-winning Hollywood productions such as “The Danish Girl” and “The shape of water”. Together they have taken up a unique challenge: to compose the first piano piece written to be interpreted by a car, on the largest score in the world. The aim is to demonstrate the precision of the PEUGEOT 508, a source of pleasure when driving. It was a natural choice given that music and driving share the absolute need for precision.
To highlight Peugeot’s ability to constantly challenge itself, BETC Paris has devised a campaign which, according to Tiphaine du Plessis, Managing Director in charge of the Brand, “reflects the mindset of a brand that has shown no qualms about breaking the mould in a sector often perceived as ageing”.
6 months of work with engineers, technicians and musicians, 190 music notes produced, 1,890m of track… That’s what was needed to produce the key element of the performance: a life size replica of the musician’s original score and a genuine technical challenge. For RIOPY, composing a piece for the new PEUGEOT 508 was a first: “As a musician I’m always looking to push back the limits. I’m pleased that I succeeded in creating a piece that speaks to the heart while respecting a number of constraints. It is a totally new way of creating music”.
But the finest composition in the world would be nothing without the interpretation of a precision instrument: the new PEUGEOT 508. With a system of laser sensors that react to variations in colour and shape, and an on-board connection in a MIDI unit, each time the vehicle passes over a note, it triggers the associated sound in the original score. By seeking out the notes one after the other, the new PEUGEOT 508 re-interprets the piece by RIOPY live.
Called The Score, the campaign is also a visual performance shot in a breathtaking décor: a military base hidden away in the Croatian mountains. For John S. Park (QUAD), the award-winning director, the location was an obvious choice: “With its kilometres of galleries hollowed out of the mountain and 5 landing strips, the military base at Zeljava was a dream location for an experiment that no one had ever attempted before”.
For Antoine Choque, Executive Creative Director at BETC, The Score totally serves the ultimate benefit: exceptional driving sensations – “we devised an artistic performance that is based entirely on the precision of the new PEUGEOT 508”.
A life-size score, a precision instrument and a unique décor, come together to create 60 seconds of a precision ballet, accompanied by a symphony orchestra.
To further enhance the performance, a second PEUGEOT 508 makes its entry. Driven by a drummer, it transforms RIOPY’s composition into an unexpected mashup, swinging between neo-classic and rock.
An official release of the track on the Warner Musics Ltd label is envisaged.
BRAND PEUGEOT
BRAND MANAGEMENT Jean-Philippe IMPARATO
Thierry LONZIANO
Nuno MARQUES
Nathalie LEMAITRE
Elodie BUGAT
AGENCY BETC
AGENCY MANAGEMENT Henri TRIPARD
Tiphaine DU-PLESSIS
Nabila RAKIBI
Annaëlle FOY
Mathilde SIKORSKY
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE OFFICER Rémi BABINET
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR Antoine CHOQUE
CREATIVE DIRECTOR David MARTIN ANGELUS
ART DIRECTOR Antoine MONTES
COPYWRITER Ibrahim SECK
HEAD OF STRATEGY Guillaume MARTIN
ACCOUNT PLANNER Adrien TORRES
ENGAGEMENT PLANNER Vincent COLONNA-CESARI
TRAFFIC Céline LAPORTE
RIGHTS NEGOTIATION Sophie SANCHEZ
TV PRODUCER Thibault BLACQUE-BELAIR
POST-PRODUCER Slim TRABELSI
PRODUCTION COMPANY QUAD
SOUND PRODUCTION GUM (Green United Music)
SONG NAME “LE REVE D’UNE NOTE”
COMPOSER RIOPY
EDITOR GUM GREEN UNITED MUSIC
DIRECTOR John S. PARK
HEAD OF PRODUCTION Karim NACEUR
DOP Patrick DUROUX
ACTORS Jean-Philippe RIOPY
Sam LHERMILLIER
Karmen VCETKO
Nina PEČAR
Matjaz POROVNE
Barbara STIMEC
Arslan HAMIDULLIN
Klemen KRAJC
Danijel TOMSIČ
Peter LEBAR