Air New Zealand has become famous for its hilarious and star-studded air safety videos, featuring everyone from Elijah Wood to Bear Grylls to Betty White. The latest parody video riffs off sci-fi comedy “Men in Black” and stars New Zealand rugby legends the All Blacks.
Captain Richie McCaw and fly-half Dan Carter play MiB agents, “Australian Idol” winner Stan Walker raps alongside winger Israel Dagg, and Hollywood actor Rip Torn reprises his role as Zed, head of the MiB.
There are also cameos from international rugby greats including former England captain Martin Johnson and former Argentinian captain Agustin Pichot as horned aliens.
It’s not the first time the airline has parodied famous films, or paid tribute to great New Zealand exports.
In 2014, they released the cheekily titled “Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made,” a four-minute Hobbit-inspired masterpiece with cameos from none other than Sir Peter Jackson and Elijah Wood.
Nonagenarian comedy legend Betty White and her former “Mary Tyler Moore Show” co-star Gavin MacLeod proved that age ain’t nothing but a number in the 2013 video “Safety Old School Style,” set at the fictional Second Wind Retirement Home.
Daredevil adventurer Bear Grylls might not be the first person you’d ask for safety advice – his TV stunts have included drinking his own urine and using a dead sheep as a sleeping bag – but he’s definitely a chap who’s ripe for parody.
His 2013 video for Air New Zealand saw the man born Edward Michael Grylls tracking the extinct flightless Moa bird in the South Island of New Zealand.
In typical Grylls style, the British survivalist stores a fish in an overhead bin (a moss-covered hole in a rock) and eats the exit path lighting (glow worms).
The new “Men in Black Safety Defenders” video launched Wednesday but has already racked up nearly 1.4 million hits on YouTube.
Altogether, the airline’s safety videos have been viewed more than 53 million times online.
