Is it time for Air NZ to ditch the creative safety videos?

Wednesday, 6 March 2024

Analysis: Air New Zealand’s safety videos tend to provoke two very different reactions.

There are those who love the elaborate productions with guest stars, storylines and strong non-safety-related messages, and those who wish they’d stop trying so hard to entertain and just get to the point.

The current safety video, which has a conservation theme focusing on the story of the takahē, was first shown to passengers in 2020.

While Air New Zealand did not “invent” the creative safety video (Richard Branson’s Virgin America built the bandwagon in 2007), it has become world-renowned for its efforts.

Beginning with Bare Essentials of Safety in 2009, which featured flight attendants wearing nothing but body paint, early iterations were wacky and irreverent, variously starring a sleazy puppet named Rico, famed American fitness instructor Richard Simmons busting out the moves in a rhinestone-studded, koru-branded singlet, and Sports Illustrated models strutting their stuff in the Cook Islands.

2014 saw the release of the Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made, which capitalised on the success of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films and was something of a mini movie in itself. Directed by Taika Waititi, it featured Elijah Wood and Wēta Workshop special effects, wracking up millions of views on YouTube.

Air New Zealand’s creative approach to safety videos got it into hot water in 2015, when the Civil Aviation Authority decided that a video featuring nine pro surfers, including a Sports Illustrated model, contained “extraneous material” that “detracts from the scope and direction of the safety message”. However, the CAA still allowed the video to be used.

This didn’t stop the airline from flexing its creative muscles with future videos though. Three years later, it released its biggest video yet - a more than 600-cast-member New Zealand travelogue featuring local musicians and dancers making like American rappers to the tune of the distinctly non-Kiwi It's Tricky. The video was so widely derided - Breakfast presenter Hayley Holt calling it 'embarrassing' and agreed with NZ First MP Shane Jones that it 'trivialised safety' - that it was canned after just two months.

Since then, Air New Zealand has played it relatively safe, sticking to more serious, yet still elaborate, videos which showcase New Zealand and push conservation or sustainability messages.

Is it time for Air NZ to ditch the creative safety videos? Let us know in the comments.

One of the main criticisms levelled against the airline’s safety videos is that they put the promotion of the airline and New Zealand (the government, as a key stakeholder, is invested in tourism) ahead of the safety messages they are designed to impart.

The Japan Airlines (JAL) emergency at Tokyo’s Haneda airport in January brought the issue of safety videos back into focus. The crew’s composure and clear instructions combined with the passengers’ high level of cooperation undoubtedly played a big part in ensuring everyone disembarked before the Airbus A350 jet was engulfed in flames. But some experts say the straightforward safety video may also have played a part.

So, are creative videos just as, or even more, effective? Or do the safety messages get lost amid the entertainment?

There is limited research on the topic but, in a paper published in 2015, University of New South Wales researchers investigated whether standard, humorous or movie-themed safety videos better enable passengers to recall key safety messages.

Of the 82 study participants, those who watched a standard safety video had the highest average recall of safety messages at 53%. Those who watched a movie-themed video were able to recall an average 47% of messages, while those who watched a humorous video with a dancing group recalled just 35%.

One of the researchers, Brett Molesworth, told the Wall Street Journal that people tend to remember the funny parts of these videos, rather than the safety instructions.

Massey School of Aviation professor Andrew Gilbey, who has done much of his research in applied aviation psychology, noted that the retention rates for the three study groups didn’t differ greatly.

“Another finding was that the amusing videos are slightly more likely to grab your attention,” he said. “That being said, I think cultural and cohort differences affect things. Personally, I’m no fan of the amusing kind of safety presentation. I actually really dislike them. I like to get the information and get onto doing other things, but I do know a lot of people, including my wife, love them. There’s probably not a great deal of difference in their effectiveness, from the small amount of research that’s been done.”

Air New Zealand claims that its creative safety videos are more engaging than standard videos and help passengers tretain safety messages.

Chief operational integrity and safety officer Captain David Morgan said they have also become an iconic part of flying with the national carrier.

“When we launched our first safety video 15 years ago, we found that creating an entertaining safety briefing not only increased customer engagement and attention onboard, it also generated huge viewership outside of the aircraft, increasing overall awareness of aircraft safety messaging.

“Our safety videos have accumulated more than 200 million views globally and our creative approach helps to ensure safety messaging is absorbed and retained.”

John Cox, a pilot and founder of US-based aviation safety consultancy Safety Operating Systems, is a big fan of Air New Zealand’s videos, saying the airline’s “innovative approach has been touted as one of the best things out there because it gets people’s attention. It's been that way for quite some time. They've been very innovative with it, but they've also incorporated a serious message. They've done a remarkably good job of striking the right balance.”

Cox said the simple, factual JAL video could come across as “a bit stiff” for some.

“It has great information in it but, from the North American or European perspective, the presentation is not something that grabs your attention. That said, it certainly proved effective with the A350 landing in Haneda. It’s clear they’re getting the message across.”

Jose Perezgonzalez, a senior lecturer at Massey’s aviation school, thinks a video that keeps eyeballs on screens is not necessarily effective at helping people understand and retain safety messaging.

“(Air New Zealand’s) videos seem to be, for the most part, mini-films that market New Zealand and the airline” he said, adding that they run the risk of distracting from the safety theme.

“It is possible that the safety message from Japan Airlines is closer to what a safety message should ideally be, conveying useful information without unnecessary distraction. But it is not perfect.”

It should be noted that Air New Zealand is far from the only airline to produce creative safety videos. Indeed, it has become an international phenomenon, with airlines around the world doing their best to make their safety videos YouTube sensations.

For Air New Zealand, the safety video also represents an opportunity to promote sustainable tourism in Aotearoa. 2020’s A Journey to Safety, which tells the story of a little girl imagining flying a lost takahē to a safe new home in her aircraft-shaped treehouse, highlights the plight of the threatened bird. And a 2022 video encouraged passengers to adopt the Tiaki Promise, an initiative by Tourism New Zealand and partner organisations which encourages people to care for the taonga (treasure) that is this country of ours.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) certainly appreciates the airline’s help. Strategic partnerships manager Carole Lillico said the department’s 12-year partnership with Air New Zealand, which last year saw the airline invest more than $5 million in DOC biodiversity programmes, enables more to be done for native species than it could do alone.

“Through Air New Zealand’s safety videos and other marketing initiatives, we are able to raise awareness of our unique biodiversity, the challenges and threats it faces, and the ways people can help support and protect conservation.

“The Journey to Safety video raises awareness of the takahē, a threatened, nationally vulnerable native species to a domestic and international audience… This video has 1.9m views on YouTube and creates a connection to and builds awareness of New Zealand's threatened species. Videos like these inspire others to care and act through storytelling.”

Perezgonzales suggested that a compromise could be struck if airlines each used both types of video.

“In an ideal world, both could co-exist. An Air New Zealand-type of video may sit well with inbound flights, presenting the safety message together with an exhortation of the beauty of natural and cultural New Zealand…

“A simpler message may be more effective in outbound flights, however, as departing passengers are less motivated by the beauty of a country they are leaving, thus may pay more attention to safety technicalities that may arise in an international flight.”

Whatever happens, it seems Air New Zealand is sticking to its creative videos for the time being.

“We are always looking at how we can create safety videos that deliver something fresh, new, and engaging for our customers,” Morgan said. “Our next safety video will be no exception.”