Kiwis are passionate about their highly successful All Blacks rugby team and Air New Zealand is obviously hoping other nationalities watching its new safety video will share the love.
The Kiwi carrier has been a leader in the field of quirky inflight safety productions since former chief executive Rob Fyfe donned body paint a decade ago.
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It has produced some epic and very humorous videos that, like the All Blacks, have been mostly successful with a few clangers mixed in.
While this effort may not be among its best, it moves relatively quickly and whatever Air New Zealand does in this space is guaranteed to attract attention.
In fact, the airline boasted Thursday night that it had been viewed 2.3 million times since its release that morning.
The premise is based on the creation of fictional new airline, Air All Blacks, and attempts to produce the carrier’s first safety video.
Air New Zealand brings in a wealth of current and former rugby stars with American actor Rick Hoffman, of Suits fame, and local actor Cliff Curtis providing some acting clout.
The airline says the US actor, who reprises his role as a lawyer, insisted on being a spokesman after experiencing its service in 2017.
There’s still a good dose of the famous Kiwi self-deprecating humor with a reference to a controversial rap video and observations that the All Blacks are not exactly strangers to Air New Zealand safety productions.
Air New Zealand General Manager Global Brand & Content Marketing Jodi Williams described the video as “a futuristic take on two iconic Kiwi brands coming together to show the world just how much rugby is in our DNA”.
“Changing our name to Air All Blacks is a fun demonstration of our support for the boys in black,’’ she said. “Our people feel a great sense of pride flying the team around the world and both organizations consistently show the world what a huge impact a small nation can make on the world stage.”
The video also features a catchy original soundtrack by New Zealand band SIX60.
See what you think here:
