Celebrity adventurer in Bear Essentials of Safety video

27 February 2013

Celebrity adventurer stars in Bear Essentials of Safety video

Air New Zealand has set a new benchmark for airline safety videos by teaming up with adventurer Bear Grylls to create a ground breaking piece of content filmed in the wild.

The national airline and British adventurer, who came to global attention with the hit Man vs. Wild television series, filmed the safety video in a remote part of the Routeburn Track near Fiordland in New Zealand’s South Island late last year.

The Bear Essentials of Safety rolls out across the Air New Zealand fleet from today and follows global safety video hits such as The Hobbit themed An Unexpected Briefing, All Blacks themed Crazy About Rugby and Fit To Fly featuring fitness legend Richard Simmons.

Bear Grylls is one of the most famous faces on the planet. His TV shows have been watched by more than 1 billion people in 182 countries; he has more than nine million Facebook fans and nearly a million followers on Twitter.

In the Bear Essentials of Safety, the famous adventurer and top selling author is assisted by renowned Kiwi entomologist Ruud Kleinpaste (also known as The Bug Man) and has to contend with a cast of native creatures, including a Kea, a Tuatara, native glow worms and the extinct flightless New Zealand bird – the Moa.

The safety video also features appearances from three Kiwi Scouts, who were in awe of the opportunity to work with Bear, who is Chief Scout to the UK Scout Association.

Bear Grylls says shooting an in-flight safety video in the wild was an inspired idea. “New Zealand is a country that I have always called my home away from home and I feel so proud to be involved with this campaign. We shot in a truly amazing setting with an amazing team – and that is always a privilege.”

Air New Zealand Chief Marketing and Customer Officer Mike Tod says Bear Grylls was the ideal in-flight safety ambassador.

“Bear was the ideal partner to help us bring to life important on-board safety messages in a unique and compelling way, while at the same time demonstrating the best of what New Zealand has to offer. We hope the global attention this safety video will receive generates more awareness of our amazing country and gets a few more bums on seats. The video builds perfectly off the back of the strong imagery generated globally by The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and was worth the logistical challenges involved to create it,” says Mr Tod.

He says the video would not have been possible without the support of the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC).

“Air New Zealand and DOC have developed a deep partnership where we can combine our assets for the benefit of our nation. DOC is the custodian of some of the best environmental tourism experiences in the world and it’s a privilege to bring these to life on the global stage through our world-class marketing capability. In particular, the work we are doing together in promoting the nine Great Walks in New Zealand is really starting to show some positive results.”

DOC Director General Al Morrison says the project reflects the common interest both organisations share in enhancing New Zealand’s wildlife and its special places.

“Air New Zealand is also actively supporting our biodiversity and species translocation programmes around the country, including the Routeburn Track where the video was shot. We are very pleased to be working with a business leader that understands the value of investing in conservation.”

Online viewers of the Bear Essentials of Safety can be in to win a trip for two to New Zealand from anywhere in the world to complete the Great Kiwi Bucket List. The prize includes a 10 day New Zealand holiday with the winner’s choice of six adventure activities from a list that ranges from swimming with dolphins in Doubtful Sound to hot air ballooning across the Canterbury Plains.

View the Bear Essentials of Safety at www.airnzsafety.com.

Learn more about Bear at www.beargrylls.com.

ENDS

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