Air New Zealand reveals Hobbit-inspired safety video
Thursday, 1 November 2012 11:34 AM
The Hobbit's global premiere will be in Wellington on November 28th
Air New Zealand has today launched its latest safety video inspired by The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
The video – entitled ‘An Unexpected Briefing’ has been created in conjunction with the Academy Award-winning Weta Workshop (of The Lord of the Rings films) and features appearances from Jackson, the unforgettable character, Gollum, and descendants of J.R.R Tolkien, author of the timeless masterpiece The Hobbit on which the trilogy is based.
Air New Zealand General Manager Marketing and Communications Mike Tod said: “Our partners at Weta Workshop and Weta Digital, which brought Gollum to life inside the aircraft, have helped us demonstrate again that if you want to engage with audiences in a unique way, our nation has immense creative capability.”
Two great grandsons of The Hobbit author J.R.R Tolkien, Mike and Royd Tolkien, also make a cameo appearance in the safety video.
Royd Tolkien, who features in the video with prosthetic hairy Hobbit feet, says the opportunity to be part of Air New Zealand’s association with The Hobbit movies was too good to miss. “They’ve done a great job of capturing the essence of The Hobbit films and it was a privilege to be invited to participate.”
Mr Tod says the release of ‘An Unexpected Briefing’ marks the official start of Air New Zealand’s two-year global marketing programme dedicated to The Hobbit Trilogy.
“We will invest several million dollars in Australia, Asia, the United States and Europe on uniquely Air New Zealand marketing efforts related to The Hobbit movies to attract more tourists to New Zealand. We are also working extremely closely with Tourism New Zealand on a range of initiatives,” he added.
A forthcoming feature of Air New Zealand’s support of The Hobbit Trilogy will be a themed aircraft which will be unveiled prior to the movie’s global premiere in Wellington on November 28th.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first in a trilogy of films from director and Kiwi Sir Peter Jackson.
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