Air NZ Men in Black Safety Defenders a crowd pleaser

With around 3.2 million people watching it online every day, Air New Zealand’s latest safety video Men in Black Safety Defenders is well on its way to becoming the airline’s most popular to date with 12.9 million online views recorded in the four days since its release.

Inspired by the global film franchise Men in Black, the video stars several high profile members of the All Blacks along with the team’s coach Steve Hansen and a line-up of international rugby greats.

All Black Israel Dagg and Kiwi musician Stan Walker lead on vocals while American actor Rip Torn reprises his role from the films as Chief of the Men in Black.

As well as being a hit online, the video has been featured in global news media outlets including The Independent, The Telegraph and the Daily Mail in the UK, CNN, The Washington Post, Time.com and Mashable.com in the US, France’s Le Figaro Magazine and the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia.

The video was also screened at half time of the All Blacks vs Australia Bledisloe Cup match at Eden Park in Auckland over the weekend to a crowd of close to 50,000 rugby fans and Stan Walker took to the pitch to answer questions about his role in the video.

Air New Zealand Head of Global Brand Development Jodi Williams says the airline has been blown away by the video’s popularity.

"It’s been fantastic seeing the reaction to Men in Black Safety Defenders both online and from the feedback we’ve received from customers. We have been a longstanding supporter of the All Blacks and New Zealand Rugby and it’s been great for us to be able to release this latest video and show our support for the team at what is an exciting time for rugby," says Ms Williams.

Collectively, Air New Zealand’s safety videos have been viewed more than 53 million times online. Men in Black Safety Defenders can be viewed here - youtu.be/ji65WI5QLZI.