Air New Zealand, the official airline of Middle-earth, has launched a “The Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made”, a short film connected with the third and final film in The Hobbit Trilogy – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. The video features Air New Zealand staff and The Hobbit cast including Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins), Dean O’Gorman (Fili the Dwarf) and Sylvester McCoy (Radagast), with cameos by Sir Peter Jackson, Weta Workshop co-founder Sir Richard Taylor and film director Taika Waititi (Gandalf the Brown). The safety video was shot over six days across a number of New Zealand’s Middle-earth locations, including Hobbiton and Central Otago, both of which appear in The Hobbit Trilogy.
Air New Zealand’s safety video show reel includes the An Unexpected Briefing (with the first Hobbit film), Ed and Melanie’s Safety Sketch, Nothing To Hide, Bear Essentials of Safety featuring adventurer Bear Grylls, Safety Old School Style with Betty White and Fit to Fly starring fitness legend Richard Simmons. Collectively the airline’s safety videos have clocked up more than 30 million hits online.
Air New Zealand Hobbits Credits
The Air New Zealand Middle-earth campaign was developed at True, Auckland, by creative director/copywriter Craig Pethybridge, art director Dom Antelme, agency producer Fiona Champtaloup and managing director Matt Dickinson.
Filming of the Air New Zealand Hobbits safety video was shot by director Taika Waititi. Costumes were produced at Weta Workshop. Visual effects were produced at Weta Digital.
