Men in Black, Safety Defenders

I think we’ve established by now that no airline does flight safety videos better than Air New Zealand. I’ve shared several over the years, and the video above is the latest. I think it’s pretty awesome.

I’ll admit that when I first heard they’d done this one, I moaned to myself. It’s such an old movie (1997), I thought, and I think the All Blacks of that time did something back then. And, yet…

The video pays true homage to the original Men In Black movie (which, full disclosure, I loved) while remaining true to the purpose: An inflight safety video. I think it works.

The man in the first scene with the newspaper is Steve Hansen, coach of the All Blacks, and the two agents are Ritchie McCaw, All Blacks Captain, and Dan Carter, also a long-time star player. They’re joined by “Agent S”, Stan Walker, a Kiwi living in Australia who was the winner in the final Australian Idol series. His musical numbers are joined by Israel Dagg, who many people I know consider to be a comely lad. I couldn’t possibly comment.

These videos are meant to be a bit of fun—obviously—and to be a bit unusual in order to get the attention of passengers who normally tune out during the flight safety video. But when they’re done well—as so many have been—they go viral, which gets attention for Air New Zealand, and that’s good for the airline (and New Zealand taxpayers, who are the major shareholder).

So, this isn’t a commercial, though my sharing it does help promote Air New Zealand. Mainly, it’s a bit of fun as we gear up for the Rugby World Cup, which is a HUGE sporting event in this part of the world (so, not coincidentally, the devilish-looking characters are all former opponents of the All Blacks).

Remember to keep your seatbelt fastened at all times.