Kaboom! That's the sound of yet another volley in the ongoing Wacky Safety Video Wars.
This time, it's Air New Zealand that has launched another salvo. Because the final film of the Hobbit trilogy is about to be released, 2014 is the last year that New Zealand can milk the Lord of the Rings franchise for every drop it's worth.
And boy, does it. You wouldn't think that anyone could wring any more gags out of Middle Earth wizards, dwarfs, and Peter Jackson presiding over geekery. But let me say that after racking up nearly 900,000 hits in one day of its release, Air New Zealand has turned that milk into some delicious cross-promotional cheese.
If the airlines blew their record profits simply on pumping out highly watchable (and highly weird) safety videos like these—and some airlines now seem to be doing just that—I'd be more likely to support the fees associated with à la carte pricing.
