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Home / The Country

Country kids' Air New Zealand safety video

Matthew Theunissen
By Matthew Theunissen
NZ Herald·
13 Jul, 2017 07:24 PM2 mins to read

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Sisters Ella and Heidi Stephens from Mapua sent their version of an Air NZ safety ad to the airline and it has gone viral

Two South Island sisters are raising smiles and warming hearts all over chilly New Zealand with their homemade Air New Zealand safety video.

Country girls Ella and Heidi Stephens, 13 and 11, made their own version of the well-known Air New Zealand pre-flight safety videos from their home in the small town of Mapua, west of Nelson.

Some of the highlights include Ella holding her cat, Malibu, and advising passengers to put on their own oxygen masks before helping others.

Their "in an event of an emergency" segment shows Heidi racing a go-cart down a hill and crashing into a bush.

Air New Zealand said in a statement that the company's general manager of global brand and content marketing, Jodi Williams, was so impressed by the girls' creativity that the airline flew them to Auckland on Tuesday to meet the creative team behind the safety video series.

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"We never expected to get a call from Air New Zealand and it was cool but a little bit embarrassing to see our safety video played on the big screen at their offices," Ella said, according to the statement.

"The best part about making our safety video was the crash stunt with the trolley. It wasn't the safest, but it was the most fun," Heidi said.

Williams said she was "blown away" by the girls' ingenuity; turning tools into props, using fairy lights to create escape path lighting and making an oxygen mask from old pipe and an eye mask.

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"With their sense of humour and attention to detail, they've made a fantastic video and we loved being able to share a behind-the-scenes glimpse into our productions," she said.

The sisters' video was also presented at an advanced screening of Air New Zealand's new safety video, which features movie stars Katie Holmes and Cuba Gooding Jr.

The girls' mum, Claire Stephens, told the Herald her daughters had just been doing what kids do and was blown away by the response the video had received.

"We just can't believe how crazy it's gone - just a little half-hour session with a video camera and it's just snowballed," she said.

"But it's a bit of fun and it's brightening people's days. It's just kids doing what kids do but with technology, so it's pretty amazing really."

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