How cool is this air safety video? England rugby star Martin Johnson has teamed up with the All Blacks and an all-star line-up of international rugby greats to tackle Air New Zealand’s latest safety video – Men in Black Safety Defenders.
Inspired by the film Men in Black, the video features the former England captain with All Black’s Captain Richie McCaw and Dan Carter as Men in Black agents.
Watch Men In Black Safety Defenders and read here what Martin and his co-stars thought about making it.
Starring alongside the two All Blacks is Coach Steve Hansen, team mates Kieran Read, Keven Mealamu, Sam Whitelock and Israel Dagg who gets to test his vocals alongside Kiwi musician Stan Walker (above).
American actor Rip Torn reprises his role as Chief of the Men in Black with Wallabies great David Campese, and former Argentinean Captain Agustin Pichot also making cameo appearances.
Former England Captain Martin Johnson admitted his appearance in Men in Black Safety Defenders is likely to come at a cost.
Of his cameo performance, he said: “I’m a big fan of Air New Zealand so was excited to get the call up to appear in the airline’s latest inflight video. I’m sure English rugby fans will have a few words to say about my appearance alongside the All Blacks too.”
Australian Wallabies great David Campese and former Argentina Captain Agustin Pichot and Martin Johnson shared his sentiment.
David said: “I’m expecting to get a right ribbing from my mates for appearing in a video promoting the All Blacks, Australia’s key opponents. They’ll never let me live it down.”
And Agustin added: “The All Blacks are staunch rivals of the Pumas making it especially fun to play the role of their nemesis in Air New Zealand’s new safety video.”
All Blacks Captain Richie McCaw says the players had a great time making the video. “We had a lot of laughs on set and were blown away by Israel’s hidden singing talent. If rugby doesn’t work out for him he clearly has a promising career as a back-up singer.”
Israel Dagg said he was a huge fan of the Men in Black films. “I grew up listening to the iconic Men in Black movie soundtrack song. Hopefully I’ve done it some justice.”
Emmanuelle Borde, Executive Vice President, Sony Pictures Entertainment, said: “The creative concept and the parallels drawn between the All Blacks and the Men in Black are really clever. It’s been exciting to help Air New Zealand bring the Men in Black universe to life in this unique way.”
Jodi Williams, Air New Zealand Head of Global Brand Development Jodi Williams said the airline is Crazy About Rugby making the All Blacks the perfect partner for its latest safety offering.
“We recently extended our sponsorship of the All Blacks and New Zealand Rugby through until 2020 and thought what better way to celebrate than with a safety video.
“We’ve worked with the All Blacks on previous safety videos and thought it would be fun this time around to have them step into the shoes of the other highly trained Men in Black. The result is not only entertaining but makes people sit up and take notice of the key safety messages.”
New Zealand Rugby Chief Executive Officer Steve Tew says it’s a big year for the All Blacks and with plenty of travel on the cards the team was keen to be involved in delivering the airline’s safety briefing to fellow customers.
“Air New Zealand’s been a long-time supporter of the All Blacks and New Zealand Rugby and has played a crucial role in connecting the team to fans across the globe through inventive and colourful marketing efforts such as Men in Black Safety Defenders.”
Men in Black Safety Defenders will be progressively rolled out across Air New Zealand’s fleet from today.
