Air New Zealand Flies Back To The Shire In New Safety Briefing

 

"For the time will soon come when Hobbits will shape the fortunes of all.” Well, maybe not the fortunes of all, Gandalf, but New Zealand's advertising world is a good start. 

Air New Zealand has really embraced its country's links with the Lord of the Rings trilogy by teaming up with the WETA workshop, the team behind The Hobbit, in their latest ad.

Arwen, complete with pointed ears, greets the plane full of hobbits, wizards and other Middle Earth beasts on board. Gollum makes an appearance to demonstrate the emergency lighting, while Legolas instructs on how to use the oxygen masks.

And who should be the pilot but Gandalf the Grey? His famous quote, "Fly, you fools!" is extremely fitting. Peter Jackson, the director of the upcoming film, The Hobbit, also makes a quick appearance to explain the brace position.

Unfortunately, Gandalf's long pipe is confiscated by Legolas, as obviously, one does not simply smoke on an aircraft. The clip is playful and doesn't take itself too seriously, as we catch glimpses of Converse, tattoos and numerous iPhones and laptops.

It might have been easier to travel to Mordor if Frodo had had Google maps to hand. I guess, it would have been even more simple, had Air New Zealand been around to give them a lift.  

This isn't the first time Air New Zealand have jazzed up their security announcements. Last year they turned their video into an Aerobics Workout style clip, which achieved 183,000 shares. 

This clip is another story. It has nobly journeyed up the charts straight to the top of the 7 day Viral Video Ad Chart. With 335,000 shares in 2 days, it is a valiant effort by Air New Zealand on their quest to liven up a normally ignored safety announcement.

Lindsay Lohan Interviewed By Scary Puppet For Air New Zealand Commercial While Under House Arrest

Some may have thought that Lindsay Lohan got off lightly when she was put under house arrest for 35 days for stealing a necklace.

But it can't have been easy for the Mean Girls star. After all, being cooped up at your swish LA apartment is no cakewalk. 

No paps to follow you around while you buy coffee, no wild parties and you even get strange vampire puppets coming around to make fun of you.

Thankfully, Lohan was paid for the last one, and even managed to fit it in between her numerous court appearances.

It was for the latest Air New Zealand ad, in which she is interviewed by Rico, the Kiwi airline's furry mascot.

She is the third star to be interviewed by the wise-cracking puppet as part of a new ad campaign by the ailrine called 'On The SkyCouch With Rico'.

David Hasselhoff and TV host Giuliana Rancic have also been grilled by the pesky puppet, while Richard Simmons and Snoop Dogg have featured in recent Air New Zealand commercials.

However, she is certainly the most controversial choice. Thankfully, she manages to take some of the jibes in good spirits, making the video, while a little uncomfortable, a reasonable entertaining watch.

Top 10 Most Shared Puppet Ads

Ford recently put its social media strategy in the hands of an obnoxious, misogynistic and sorry-looking orange puppet called Doug.

At first glance, it may not seem like the most logical step in the world, but then, the car giants are certainly not the first to use puppet power to try and generate interest in their ad campaigns.

Puppets, after all, can get away with things you or I cannot. For example, an obnoxious pig that hits people is not going to charm anyone. But stick a hand up its bum and a give it a blonde wig and you have the much-loved Miss Piggy.

It's the same with the Doug. Ask a male actor to deliver his lines and it would just cause offence. But because it's a puppet calling a female reporter 'Prettypants', it is OK.

In fact, Doug, voiced by comedian Paul F. Tompkins, even has his own YouTube channel, and an army of fans on Twitter and Facebook. Not that you will be seeing him on TV. Doug is intended purely for social video.

“We really developed these videos for the YouTube generation, if you will, that really enjoys entertainment,” says Jon Beebe, digital communications manager at Ford.

“The purpose of the videos is to make people take a left-hand turn from their daily web activities and pay attention to Doug the personality, but also the vehicle that he’s in and discussing.”

Doug is also 'a left-hand turn' for Ford, but - to continue the driving metaphor - it seems the car giants are at least steering in the right direction with this bold approach to social video. After all, social media allows brands to be a little bit more edgy and experimental in their content.

But which have been the most successful? Well, we have compiled a chart of the most shared puppet commercials of all time, based on the number of shares on Facebook, Twitter and the blogosphere.

But if you prefer, you can watch the top 10 below.

Is your favourite in there? Let us know.

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Snoop Dogg and Rico The Puppet – An Air New Zealand Ad

Ever wondered what keeps a social media campaign alive? Snoop Dogg might be the answer to that.

With the global economy being what it is, and with a volatile airline industry, you need a good social media campaign to stay competitive.

National airline Air New Zealand understands that, and in 2010 it launched its ‘Rico the puppet’ campaign. With close to 20,000 likes on Facebook over 3 million views on YouTube, the campaign can definitely be deemed a success.  

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