Whilst I agree in part, any news coverage will no doubt take the environmental credential angle and the fact that it’s is noticably quieter for passengers. The 787, despite its initial unconventional design in it’s concept stage, doesn’t look too radically different to the untrained eye and thanks to the Dreamliner tag, it enjoyed a lot of publicity.
But to be fair, many of your average passengers do take an interest and will ask what NEO stands for.
A bit of free promotion maybe but it’s the type of story that is covered week in week out by the local press.