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Air New Zealand is fake changing its name in another boundary-pushing safety video

The All Blacks rugby team stars in the new safety video.

Air New Zealand is fake changing its name in another boundary-pushing safety video

[Photo: courtesy of Air New Zealand]

BY Melissa Locker1 minute read

Air New Zealand had a good run. After 79 years in operation, the airline is changing its name. Henceforth, New Zealand’s favorite airline will be known as Air All Blacks, an homage to the nation’s champion rugby team.

“Not many brands are brave enough to change their name,” Jodi Williams, Air New Zealand’s general manager of global brand and content marketing, wrote in an email to Fast Company. She explained that the airline’s intention “is to embrace [its] kiwi pride and share a message about the power of rugby, and sports in general, to bring nations and cultures together.”

[Photo: courtesy of Air New Zealand]
Don’t try to book a ticket on Air All Blacks, though. The name change is part of a new airline safety video, the latest inAir New Zealand‘s long history of making airline safety videos that travelers actually want to watch. Its first safety video, “Bare Essentials of Safety,” debuted in 2009, where a nearly nude, body-paintedflight crewcaptured the attention of audiences—and other brands—all over the world.

That cheeky video started the trend of making it fun to watch flight crews show off the safety features of an aircraft. “Air New Zealand has always been ahead of the curve for its creative take on inflight safety videos,” Williams wrote.

The videos are not only effective in keeping passengers safe, but they also help raise awareness of the brand to people on the ground, Williams noted.

Now the airline is releasing its 19th quirky safety video, “The Very First Air All Blacks Safety Video,” which, according to Williams, “aims to both engage and entertain customers while also conveying important safety messages.” It’s also a way of supporting their national rugby team ahead of this year’s World Cup.

In the video, Air All Blacks board members discuss ideas for the newly named airline’s first safety video. As they weigh their options, some familiar faces appear in the crowd, including actors Cliff Curtis and Rick Hoffman (who plays Louis Litt in Suits), as well as rugby stars old and new, including Israel Dagg and Stan Walker and All Blacks legends Sir Michael Jones, Sir John Kirwan, and David Kirk. Former Blacks Ferns captain Fiao’o Fa’amausili also appears in the video.

It’s a rugby fan’s dream lineup that shows Air All Blacks’s love of rugby and safety. Check out the video below:

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Melissa Locker is a writer and world renowned fish telepathist. More


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