Air New Zealand has turned those pre-flight safety instructions we all ignore into a quick trip to Middle-earth.
In the campy new video, titled An Unexpected Briefing, a pointy-eared flight crew explains all the boring stuff — how to buckle your seatbelt, when to turn off your electronic devices, etc. — on a plane loaded with characters from J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy world.
It’s the latest example of Air New Zealand’s quest to turn the dreadfully dull but potentially lifesaving pre-flight safety information spiel into an entertaining experience capable of capturing passengers’ attention. Past Air New Zealand videos have featured nude flight attendants in body paint as well as appearances by celebrities like Richard Simmons and Lindsay Lohan.
In the new video, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey director Peter Jackson makes a cameo, as does a CGI Gollum, who illustrates what to do if an emergency plunges your plane into darkness.
If the elves, hobbits and wizards don’t keep passengers (and YouTube viewers) glued to the safety video, maybe the built-in contest will: Count the number of Elvish codes in the clip, and you could “win a trip to Middle-earth and one of six Double Passes to the world premiere screening of The Hobbit in Wellington” next month, according to the Air New Zealand website.
The video — which doesn’t look like it was shot at 48 frames per second, like the highly anticipated movie was — will be shown starting Wednesday on flights by Air New Zealand, which is calling itself “the airline of Middle-earth” in the spots.
In other Hobbit flying news, the Weta Workshop team has installed what it’s calling the “world’s biggest Gollum” in the Wellington Airport terminal (see a video of the installation below).
“As the first and last impression to our region, the airport is proud to work with Weta and have this magnificent sculpture on display for all to see,” said Wellington Airport chief Steve Sanderson on the Weta website. “Everyone will be amazed as they enter the terminal and be able to walk under and around Gollum; it really does feel like you’re in the stream with him.”
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens Dec. 14.
[via Mashable]
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