unicornnews: Naked truths about safety

You might think that the chance of avoiding death would be reason enough for customers to pay attention, but we all know how airline passengers tend to tune out when safety messages come on the screens. So, how do you successfully communicate such important information when your audience believes they’ve heard it all before and automatically ignores you?

Well, Air New Zealand have re-recorded the safety messages shown on its internal flights in a very informal fashion, so informal in fact the staff members relaying the information are naked.

Though their distinctive uniforms have been painted on to their bodies, and clever camera work ensures certain parts of their anatomies are always hidden, so much so it takes a while to realise what’s going on. Presumably it’s hoped that while passengers work it out they might just absorb the important information being communicated.

For natives, the videos will probably come as less of a surprise, linked, as they are, to a recent TV advertising campaign which saw staff members from across the airline, including chief exec Rob Fyfe, wearing only body paint uniforms. It was part of campaign to explain that their budget packages had no hidden charges using the strapline: “Our fares have nothing to hide”.

You can check out the naked safety film here

Posted Thursday July 2 2009 by Chris Cooke