Air New Zealand released its newest safety video this morning, starring Kiwi NBA player Steven Adams in the lead role.
Every Point Counts is the airline’s 23rd safety video and keeps true to Air New Zealand’s tradition of using entertaining and quirky safety videos.
The video depicts Adams taking on a group of Kiwi kids in a basketball game, which eventually ends with a down-to-the-wire on-court battle in a packed stadium.
Alongside the Houston Rockets centre, the video also features several other notable Kiwis in various cameos.
This list includes Steven’s sister, Olympic gold medallist Dame Valerie Adams.
Comedian Tom Sainsbury plays a coach and referee, broadcaster Andrew Mulligan is on commentary, and influencer Theo Shakes is a spectator.
Adams said it was an “honour” to feature in an Air New Zealand video.
“It was awesome to be part of a project that involved young people and the community,” he said.
“It was fun to have Val in the video too. As a younger brother, at first, I was like ‘man get out of my video!’ but it’s cool to do a family collab – it was a special moment.”
Speaking to Breakfast this morning, Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran said his team “worked pretty hard” to get Adams in the video.
“You couldn’t do better,” he said.
“He’s the real, sort of quintessential Kiwi chap that I guess we all dreamed of being at some stage.”
He said the goal of this video was to make it a bit “lighter” and “quicker” than the previous ones, entertaining passengers while providing safety information.
It had been a few years since the airline had released one of its safety videos, and Foran said it was important to “wait and make sure we do this right”.
In 2019 the airline pulled a safety video after widespread criticism. Shane Jones called it a “juvenile mish-mash that trivialises safety” and “a lame attempt at entertainment”.
“Coming into the busy season, holidays about to kick off, so it’s all come together nicely,” Foran said.
“I think it’s going to be a wonderful hit.”
He said the airline had consulted its customers to determine what they wanted to see in a safety video.
Foran said the latest video was a “really good mixture” of safety messages and entertainment.
