The Mark Agnesi interview: No ‘Play Authentic’ but plenty of Epiphone
Mr Agnesi hints at upcoming relaunch for Epiphone
Mark Agnesi interview - With a Play Authentic elephant in the room · Source: YouTube/Andertons
Lee Anderton aka The Captain has uploaded a YouTube video featuring an interview and jam session with Gibson’s Director of Brand Experience Mark Agnesi. They talk about plenty of interesting stuff. But they also avoid perhaps the most fascinating topic of all…
Play Authentic?
The interview is friendly and the two even have a little jam session. But nowhere during the 40 plus minutes of guitar noodling and chat is there a single mention of the Play Authentic video. Lee went as far as releasing an official statement along with the uploaded video:
“It was great to have Mark Agnesi over for a video at Andertons. I realise that you may watch this video & wonder why I didn’t ask him about the “Authentic” incident on camera! Please understand that it is Gibson’s desire to just move on & not keep going over old ground. They know they got the tone of that video wrong, and have already apologised & tried to set the record straight in previous posts. So, on with the video…. Let’s find out about Mark!” – Lee Anderton
Gibson Play Authentic video featuring Mark Agnesi · Source: Gibson
Epiphone
There is also no mention of the Dean Guitars legal case over the Flying V body shape, or the threatening posture Gibson’s Director of Brand Experience took in the Play Authentic video towards smaller guitar builders. But Mr Agnesi does hint that the company has some major plans for its Epiphone subsidiary that fans should be quite excited about. Hopefully, this ties in this recent Instagram post from Gibson’s Cesar Gueikian. Mark Agnesi comments in the video:
Get ready for what’s coming with Epiphone. My excitement right now, I get up every morning thinking about Epiphone guitars. And I want everybody out there to be thinking about Epiphone guitars … It’s such an iconic brand. Where Gibson is iconic and aspirational, Epiphone is iconic and accessible, and we just need to work, and we are, putting the focus again on the right mix of products at all price points. At all price points.
I personally don’t find the video completely convincing. Would it have been smarter to use this video to express regret for the Play Authentic video – or perhaps even apologise? I’m no PR expert, but maybe the better move here would have been to appear to be making amends. I do, however, like that Epiphone may be getting a significant makeover at Winter NAMM 2020, so that’s positive.
What’s your reaction? Is Gibson sweeping a faux pas under the rug or is it time for us all to move on? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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5 responses to “The Mark Agnesi interview: No ‘Play Authentic’ but plenty of Epiphone”
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I’ve had a number of Epiphones here, and wasn’t impressed at all. And that’s actually factoring in the price point. In my personal experience, brands like Ibanez have it figured out far better than Gibson/Epiphone how to make guitars across all price points.
This move is really just a repetition of the old Gibson moving into low-margin hifi gear markets, which failed. My guess is that they’re misunderstanding PRS’s success with the core and SE lines. PRS is able to sell lots of SEs because they built a reputation with their core line. Gibson does not have a strong reputation with their USA line, so if anything, prospect customers will infer that if the Gibson USA guitars have price-to-quality issues it will be even worse with their Asian Epiphones. And in my experience, it actually is.
Kiesel Guitars
YOUR WELCOME
“..have already apologised…”
No, they didn’t.
You understand that that’s likely all that’d be required for a lot of us who are still bothered by those events. An actual apology. Because there was no responsibility taken for the actions, and they simply continued bullying other builders without a single apology having been given.
The approval rating of that video demonstrates I’m far from the only one who feels this way.
Yeah Mark, I “get up every morning thinking about cheap Chinese copy guitars” (which are what Epiphone guitars are really). Nah.
I always pray that Epi’s dream of Epiphones success would not be
Destroyed. They gotta give epiphone its honor and let this subsidiary grow and make more push for their original designs and beauty. EPI would be happy if they gave his old brand total control. And increased profits would be mindblowing. And Epi would hold their value more and
Make casino same as elitist with affordable prive point. And give cases too.