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Pre Flight Goes Avant Garde
by Brett Snyder
Airline flight attendants have been delivering pre-flight safety demonstrations since as early as 1912, and passengers have been ignoring them for just as long. For frequent flyers, it’s the belief that they’ve seen it all before. For infrequent flyers, the bland delivery turns them off long before they learn how to use a life vest. But in recent years, many airlines have changed the way they produce safety videos. The result? The demonstrations that had long been ignored are now being watched online by millions of people who aren’t even traveling. The traditional view is that safety videos are a requirement and nothing more. In
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the pre-flight briefing days of yore, flight attendants dutifully delivered the routine safety speech to audiences of inattentive passengers. The earliest pre-flight safety videos weren’t much more engaging, usually taking the form of a technical, two to six minute instruction video. In both cases, little effort was made to make the briefings entertaining. Some airlines tried to be more creative. Southwest Airlines’ strategy to encourage flight attendants to express themselves rather than adhere to a rigid corporate vision has allowed the cabin crew to add their own flavor to pre-flight safety demonstrations – sometimes even adding a song into the mix. The potential of onboard video wasn’t realized until Virgin America’s launch in 2007. The airline had video screens on every seat and took advantage of them by creating an animated video that, as spokesperson Abby Lunardini said, “put an irreverent spin on the pre-flight safety video.” That, however, was just the beginning.
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An Unexpected Briefing air New Zealand
#VXsafetydance Virgin america
Bare Essentials of Safety air New Zealand
Sir Peter Jackson, director of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey makes a cameo appearance as a passenger en route to Middle Earth in this video, which went viral overnight.
Launched with a premiere at Times Square, this song and dance video was directed by Jon M. Chu of the Step Up movie franchise, and featured everything from smartphone hoarding nuns to contortionists.
Air New Zealand’s crewmembers deliver the “bare essentials” of safety donning nothing but body paint.
Delta’s 80’s In-Flight Safety Video delta
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In 2009, Air New Zealand provided the gold standard for safety videos when it launched “Bare Essentials of Safety” as part of a broader marketing campaign called “Nothing to Hide.” The “Bare Essentials of Safety” video shows various crewmembers delivering safety information completely nude – save for their body-paint uniforms. It became an instant YouTube classic and has been viewed more than seven million times to date. It was also an important step in showing the power of a safety video as part of a larger branding campaign. As an Air New Zealand spokesperson stated, “There is a common misperception that New Zealand is tucked away at the bottom of the earth. This is an effective way of increasing global brand awareness.” Since then, Air New Zealand has successfully released several videos, often infusing safety with pop culture. Richard Simmons and Betty White are just two of the stars the airline has used to liven up the tired old safety briefing. Their most viewed video, “An Unexpected Briefing,” was released to coincide with
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To watch our favorite safety videos, visit
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The traditional view is that safety videos are a requirement and nothing more.
january, 2014
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If you’re familiar with Alf, Atari, the Rubik’s Cube, Tab, audio cassette tapes, or have ever donned neon leg warmers with big hair, you’ll likely find this video pretty “rad,” as Delta put it.
Airline Passenger Experience Association
IllustratIon: Istockphoto
In a response to safety video fatigue, some airlines have invested in high-production videos that feature singing, dancing and celebrities.
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Airline Passenger Experience Association
june - july 2014