Air New Zealand is hands down the most innovative airline when it comes to their safety videos. Some of my favorite safety videos have been from Air New Zealand, and they’ve typically introduced at least two new safety videos per year.
Their safety videos have had all kinds of themes — some are intended to be humorous, while others are intended to showcase scenery. Air New Zealand has just released their latest safety video, which is all about the scenery. And my gosh, this is stunning.
Air New Zealand calls this the “world’s coolest safety video,” as it’s filmed in Antarctica. The star of the video is Adrian Grenier from Entourage, and the video is intended to highlight the importance of Antarctica in understanding the impacts of a warming world. Per the press release:
Featuring Hollywood actor, filmmaker and environmentalist Adrian Grenier, the World’s Coolest Safety Video takes viewers on a breath-taking journey to Antarctica, where Kiwi scientists are tackling the most pressing questions on global climate change.
Building on Air New Zealand’s long-standing partnership with Antarctica New Zealand and the New Zealand Antarctic Research Institute, the video sees Grenier team up with Scott Base scientists to track penguin populations, study ice core samples and visit early explorer Ernest Shackleton’s hut and the vast Dry Valleys.
UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador Grenier, whose environmental work also includes co-founding ocean conservation non-profit Lonely Whale, says it was a privilege to partner with Air New Zealand and Antarctica New Zealand on the video project.
This obviously isn’t as humorous as some of Air New Zealand’s other safety videos, but my gosh, the scenery is incredible. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has dreamed of one day visiting Antarctica, so seeing a safety video filmed there is pretty special. It also must have been really cool to shoot this, since they actually flew to Antarctica to do so — there was no green screen involved. I can only imagine how much Air New Zealand is spending on these videos.
Here’s the safety video:
Here’s a behind the scenes video with Adrian Grenier, talking about his involvement in the video:
What do you make of Air New Zealand’s new Antarctica safety video?
I want to go to Antartica now too, but I would also feel sad if it got too touristed and think I will stick to videos. We need somewhere in the world that humans don’t wreck.
Sean FTW
^^ I agree with The nice Paul. Puffery is bad. Virgin America is the worse because you can't understand what their singing and have to read the subtitles. If you have eye problems, you are dead meat.
A funny beginning and end is ok but the message should be clearly spoken, super clear, and try not to use too stylized representations of the cabin.
I hate this trend for safety videos to be just another piece of brand puffery. Either they’re important in their own right (so get rid of the distractions), or they’re not (so don’t insist I watch the damn thing).
Turning to more important matters: doesn’t Adrian Grenier have the best, most dense 5 o’clock shadow you’ve ever seen? What a manly man. Blimey.
Would be more informative if it were shorter. Who needs all that added fluff about Antarctica, and how stale will that look after five years? And it's a little hard to hear the dialogue under that Keane song that's sure to get old fast.
Maybe the airline could produce a group of such videos, showcasing not only Antarctica, but also the South Pacific, NZ, Chile, Los Angeles, and the other big places their passengers are...
Would be more informative if it were shorter. Who needs all that added fluff about Antarctica, and how stale will that look after five years? And it's a little hard to hear the dialogue under that Keane song that's sure to get old fast.
Maybe the airline could produce a group of such videos, showcasing not only Antarctica, but also the South Pacific, NZ, Chile, Los Angeles, and the other big places their passengers are going. Why stop with Antarctica, a place that surely none of their passengers are actually on their way to visit?
@Sean M. +1
Amazing:
https://youtu.be/my0FkYwOV0g?list=PLgJQNWXGNu4JPx73MgXIUQAT0LaWaGV85
My father died in the crash of Air NZ 901 on the slope of Mt Erebus, Ross Island. I suggest that everyone read up on that crash and the aftermath. Incompetence at the airline caused the crash though they blamed the flight crew who weren't alive to defend themselves. Air NZ acted appallingly for several years and with the then New Zealand government actively destroyed evidence of wrongdoing. It took thirty years for airline management...
My father died in the crash of Air NZ 901 on the slope of Mt Erebus, Ross Island. I suggest that everyone read up on that crash and the aftermath. Incompetence at the airline caused the crash though they blamed the flight crew who weren't alive to defend themselves. Air NZ acted appallingly for several years and with the then New Zealand government actively destroyed evidence of wrongdoing. It took thirty years for airline management to acknowledge the hurt caused, though no one ever faced legal consequence for lying under oath or destroying evidence or causing the crash in the first place. Really pretty video though.
The video was well produced.
Wow. I want to travel to Antarctica now.
It makes me uncomfortable watching this video, especially since the past history Air New Zealand has with Antarctica.
I was aware of the crash of flight 901 but it was only during a visit to NZ in 2010 when I happened to catch a documentary on TV about it that I realised how awfully Air NZ behaved in the aftermath. For that reason, I wonder who in Air New Zealand thought this was a good idea.
NZ making a safety video in the Antartica is as sensible as KL making a safety video at TFN (Tenerife North airport).
FWIW the safety message is IMO sidelined by the rest of the video. I don't mind airlines making fancy safety videos, but the instructions should be the main focus. BA gets similarly vague. QR did quite a good job with their stadium video
I did not know about the Air New Zealand flight 901 back in the late 1970s until googling about it after reading the previous responses. Wow.
As far as Antarctica goes, it is a beautiful continent. I cried after I first stepped on it back when I visited several years ago. I'm confident you and Ford will go there someday.
+1 @Sean
I know its been a long time, but I would think that Air New Zealand would want to avoid anything that would remind people about that accident.
Or perhaps its a way for them to move on after all these years. Maybe KLM will film a safety video at Tenerife.
If you’re concerned about the environment, you don’t (presumably) fly to Antarctica to make such a clip... Especially to promote an airline, not exactly known as the most environmentally friendly human activity.
A little bit too much information but still nice
Sorry, but Air New Zealand are the last people who should be using "Antartica" and "safety" in the same context.