Air New Zealand snares Betty White to front ‘Safety Old School Style’ campaign via True
Air New Zealand has released the latest in their now famed air safety videos – this one featuring the hilarious Betty White and a cast of golden oldies in Safety Old School Style.
The airline’s reputation for overstepping the conventional safety message continues in the video which focuses on living life to the fullest in true Air New Zealand style. Produced by Auckland based creative advertising agency True and production company 8com, the Australian Public Relations campaign will be delivered by Hill+Knowlton Strategies and media undertaken by Phd.
Set at the fictional ‘Second Wind Retirement Resort’ in the United States, Safety Old School Style is the airline’s first safety video to be filmed outside of New Zealand. It features the former Golden Girls star with ‘The Love Boat’s Gavin MacLeod and fellow residents living life to the full.
Air New Zealand head of global brand development Jodi Williams says Air New Zealand’s brand is all about liberating from the ordinary.
Says Williams: “As a small airline at the bottom of the world, we have to think outside the square when it comes to driving brand awareness and conveying important safety messages to our millions of customers. Partnering with influencers like Betty has proven an effective way of doing this. Our safety videos have proven a great way to showcase our unique personality to audiences of all ages around the world. In Betty we found the perfect partner – she is renowned for being a little bit cheeky and with a career spanning 74 years, who better to learn survival tips from than the award-winning show business veteran?”
Previous Air New Zealand’s safety videos, including the Hobbit-themed ‘An Unexpected Briefing’ and ‘The Bear Essentials’ featuring adventurer Bear Grylls, have gained an impressive online following in their own right – collectively they have clocked up more than 25 million views online and have featured in coverage by global media outlets, such as CNN, BBC and the New York Times.
Betty White says she had been exploring opportunities to work with Air New Zealand for some time.
Says White: “Air New Zealand has a global reputation for creating unique in-flight safety videos. When the opportunity came up to be involved in this project, I couldn’t say no. We had a lot of fun on set and I think we’ve shown that it doesn’t matter what age you are, it’s important to live life to the full.”
To celebrate the launch of Safety Old School Style Air New Zealand is giving online viewers the chance to win the trip of a lifetime to either Palm Springs, California or Queenstown in New Zealand’s South Island, including a raft of activities. To enter, viewers need to share their story of how they are living life to the full at www.airnewzealand.com/safetyoldschool
Advertising agency – True
Executive Creative Director – Craig Pethybridge
Deputy Creative Director – Dom Antelme
Digital Design Director – Kevin Schluter
Managing Partner – Matt Dickinson
Account Director – Varsha Singh
Account Director (Digital) – Kate Lennon
Agency Producer – Fiona Champtaloup
Head of Motion Graphics – Joerg Fuchs
Production Company – 8com
Director – Josh Frizzell
Editor Alex O’Shaughnessy
Production company producer – Jozsef Fityus
DOP – Renaud Maire
Editor – Alex O’Shaughnessy
Music Composition – Genyus Music/Joel Haines
Sound Design – Clive Broughton/Factory Studios
Stills Photographer – Fraser Clements
Air New Zealand:
Mike Tod – Chief Marketing and Customer Officer
Jodi Williams – Head of Global Brand Development
Susan Davidson – Global Brand Engagement Manager
1 Comment
A truly engaging way to make the ordinary extraordinary.
There so many lessons other airlines , planners and creatives can learn here.
It’s enough to get me to ditch the superficial SIA Girl and try the airline of Middle Earth.
And see whether you walk the talk.
Or fly it.
As this is an ad forum, I predict this could be 2014’s Dumb Ways to Die on the awards circuit.