July 4, 2009 in Business

Cleared for take-it-off

New Zealand airline workers trade uniforms for body paint to attract viewers to safety video
Ray Lilley Associated Press
 
Associated Press photos photo

An Air New Zealand pilot outfitted in body paint is among several airline employees to appear in a safety video called the “Bare Essentials of Safety.” The airline’s chief executive disrobed for a TV ad. This photo is provided by the airline. Associated Press photos
(Full-size photo)(All photos)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – New Zealand’s national airline has adopted a cheeky way to encourage passengers to watch its in-flight safety video: The cabin crew’s uniforms are nothing but body paint.

The “Bare Essentials of Safety,” screening in the cabins of planes flying Air New Zealand’s main domestic routes, has gone viral online. It had 1.2 million YouTube views by Friday, four days after it was launched.

In the video, three cabin staff and a pilot, all in full body paint applied to look like their uniforms, talk viewers through the aircraft’s safety procedures.

A demonstration seat belt, life jacket and arm rests are strategically positioned during the e video to protect the cabin crew’s … discretion. Passengers are shown ogling, mostly in appreciation.

The body paint idea is also being used in a series of television advertisements in New Zealand for the airline, which include the promise: “At Air New Zealand, our fares have nothing to hide.”

One ad features chief executive Rob Fyfe in body paint.

“We think in tough times there’s a premium for making people smile, and it gives the opportunity to stand out in a crowd,” said Steve Bayliss, Air New Zealand’s marketing general manager.

Each crew member spent about three hours having the body paint applied.

The video needed “a little bit of a hint, but every frame has to be as modest as anything you see at the local swimming pool or the beach in summer,” Bayliss said.

© Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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