The new safety video also has a title: Every Point Counts, and aside from Adams in the lead role, it includes a comedian, a TV sports host, a TikTok star and a special cameo from another member of the Adams family, Dame Valerie.
In the video, Houston Rockets NBA star Steven Adams takes on a group of Kiwi kids in a friendly basketball game, with tension growing as it comes down to the wire on the court.
“When it comes to safety on board, every point counts,” an Air NZ crew member says, to make the link between the deadly serious business of airline safety and globally massive sport of basketball.
There’s plenty of b-ball, but there’s not an aircraft in sight. There are, however, some seats on show and mandated messages about safety on board, equipment and what to do in the event of an emergency.
The airline has come close to the wire for being too light on the safety message before, and the Civil Aviation Authority has run the ruler over the latest clip, which runs just short of four minutes.
An Air NZ executive says it looks at the sequencing of messaging and then at building entertainment and engagement storytelling around that.
In the 15 years since the airline’s safety videos first hit seat-back screens (and equally importantly, social media) – the Air NZ safety videos haven’t all been hits but they have grabbed attention.
The safety information that lurks deeply in some may have been imparted to a wider audience than a dull public safety message. Virgin America was a pioneer of quirky safety videos and while many airlines have followed, Air NZ has run longer and harder with the concept than most.
Air safety is in sharper focus with a number of high-profile, serious turbulence incidents in the last 12 months. The Air New Zealand video nods to this with a warning to keep seat belts on throughout the flight in the case of unexpected turbulence.
One airline serving this market has taken a different approach and it has been applauded.
Emirates has this year been running a “no-nonsense safety video” and it is as advertised. At the start of the four-minute video filmed on board a plane, a flight attendant says “We do not have dancers breaking into song, characters from movies, or celebrities trying to be funny I’m afraid.”
The four-minute message has detailed information on safety features and procedures, set in all its cabins with useful information on what to do in different seats. It’s eminently watchable and there are other benefits for Emirates: It highlights its onboard products and takes a not-so-subtle dig at competitors still putting heavy emphasis on entertainment.
