Eight support staff of Air New Zealand decided to strip down to bare (painted) skin, to help create an entertaining video, they managed to turn a boring everyday subject into fun.  They had no idea what tiger they were letting lose.

No frequent-flier sits and watches the safety video which every commercial airline is obligated to show, at the commencement of every flight anywhere in the world. Air New Zealand have overcome this obstacle by producing the ‘nothing to hide’ video, where the flight crew are dressed in nothing more than body paint, accompanied to the music, “Under My Skin’, by Auckland singer Gin Wigmore.

Filmed discretely, the video remains fully family friendly, while making the curious watch to see just how much is really going to be revealed. From hiding behind the drink’s trolley to sitting discretely on a seat, there is probably less exposed than you would normally see on a walk down Bondi Beach in Australia, on a hot sunny day. Any suggestive shots are quickly blurred away.

A far more revealing video is ‘Elave Nothing To Hide’ campaign developed by Saatchi & Saatchi, New Zealand, promoting the safety of skin products, featuring nude actors. The film crew also went nude so as to put the cast at ease. The video was launched on May 5th and has seen a rise of 500% in sales.

The fact that ‘Nothing to Hide’ is the name of a well known 1981 porn film that began with an escape out of the window and ended with a tear-jerking finale, did not deter either the Air New Zealand executive creative director Craig Whitehead, deputy creative director Craig Pethybridge, art director Janelle Herrick, copywriter Lara Philips and agency producer Vicky O’Leary, or the creators of ‘Elave Nothing To Hide’.

However if you are holding your breath watching the Air New Zealand video, waiting for some discrete nude revelation in the safety video, directed by Kevin Denholm, you have missed the point. The video is about staff having fun, as they take the most boring of subjects and make it look like they are enjoying themselves. No airline passenger would have difficulty watching the video time and again.

The same could not be said about the ‘Elave Nothing To Hide’ video. A modified version was necessary for televison.

Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe, was recently voted the sexiest businessman in New Zealand. I wonder why? Perhaps the whole thing only goes to prove, it‘s not what you say, it’s how you present it.