New United Airlines Safety Video: Creative & Distracting

Good job Maggie. I will let the higher ups know.

I couldn’t agreed more. Love the creativity, but the only thing I could focus on was following the ball.

I don't personally find the ball too distracting, but it's certainly a strange thematic through line to build an airline safety video around. A rolling ball doesn't exactly evoke any plane or travel related imagery to me. That said, the old United video was getting quite long in the tooth so I suppose it was time for a new one.

I agree with the comment about it being distracting - and overall it is quite weird. I certainly prefer the previous "Safety is Global" series as it showcases destinations and people. It is nice to see the new uniform refresh in action - looks crisp. The acting in this particular video is strange, as well - perhaps that is a product of an AI / green screen environment? The blond-haired flight attendant in particular seems overly performative / too casual for the overall theme. The blurred out handshaking part at the end is very cheesy.

I'm always listening to music from the time I board until cell service ends as the plane nears 10,000 feet. The New York City Rockets could be doing the safety video and I wouldn't notice. From what I observe most other people are also engrossed into a screen once they board.

Delta’s safety video won 30 Academy Awards, making it the best safety video in the history of history.

When I first moved to Singapore I found it amusing that small children say " I need to pass motion" when they need to go to the toilet. So when I hear the title of this new video it seems apposite. United will make it safe when you need a number two!

I like to think of myself as a safety video enthusiast I even keep a YouTube playlist. I really dislike this video. During the Polaris sea shoulder belt demonstration I find it hilarious that they use an awful fake seat instead of advertising what is actually a competitive seat.

Looks very focused on their DEI hires.

Your comment regarding the thematics captures it best, though in my case I did find it potentially distracting t times. Distracting enough that people may not remember the instructions, or just stop watching it completely.

You also look obsessively focused on their DEI hires.

How I would grade the new video:
Creativity: A
Effective message: D+

The video is too dependent on language. The visuals should be the actual seat or something more illustrative. If you turn off the volume, some warnings are completely lost.

They should speak slowly and have English subtitles, as well as subtitles of the language of the foreign destination.

The creators probably think they are cool but they are not.

Someone been watching too many TikToks…

Looks like the old AA video. . .not a fan. Much prefer BA's video with the celebrities and comidians or good old Deltalina!

Agree that the old one has a sense of charm from the different locations United travels to, definitely gets my attention and puts me in the travel spirit.

Meanwhile the motion and sounds of the ball rolling around just… jarring? Abrasive? It doesn’t feel like a safety video, it doesn’t feel like a travel video.

I tend to follow the ball the whole time. It's kind of brilliant, but going to be lost on most

From Wikipedia

A Rube Goldberg machine, named after American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, is a chain reaction–type machine or contraption intentionally designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and (impractically) overly complicated way. Usually, these machines consist of a series of simple unrelated devices; the action of each triggers the initiation of the next, eventually resulting in achieving a stated goal.

That is almost 5 minutes of my life I won't get back on each flight I take. it is very distracting and way too long to expect people to have retention on the content. If the video was under 2 minutes and delivered content we could easily remember... it would be better.

Cute! It kept my attention.

both are distracting.

Having spent some years in the advertising/marketing world, United's video will likely win an award or two for its creative take on the topic and probably lots of likes and pass-alongs.

But, as a professional pilot for most of my life, this product completely misses one of the most essential requirements of a proper pre-takeoff passenger briefing: carry-on bags. I realize the video mentioned the topic, but no airline ever really emphasizes to passengers that trying to drag their carry-ons with them in an emergency risks their own lives and other people's lives by slowing the evacuation process tremendously.

A quick look at the recent collision at Haneda airport in Japan shows that the Japanese flight attendants didn't put up with that carry-on crap from anyone. And everyone got out of that burning airplane safely.