Did you know Katie Holmes and Cuba Gooding Jr created New Zealand?

At this point, Air New Zealand is either firmly committed to or unhappily shackled to its in-flight safety videos. The formula made a big splash in 2012 (see Air New Zealand's Hobbit-themed safety video becomes global viral hit), and further efforts have been creative and fun, albeit with somewhat smaller impact.

With the latest effort, above, the brand seems a bit too desperate to do something weird in order to break through the law of diminishing returns. Thus we get decidedly non-A-list actors Katie Holmes and Cuba Gooding Jr as apparent gods (the white suits are a giveaway), boasting about "the most beautiful place we've created yet". Then we're treated to a bunch of surreal but pointless images, such as skiers slicing through cappuccino foam and river rafters riding in the clouds.  

Ad Nut supposes it works as an mildly entertaining attention-getter for the captive aircraft audience. But it's too tedious to be anything more, and Ad Nut wonders how long the brand will continue to spend on elaborate videos that only reach the people who are already sitting on one of the airline's jets. 

The creative agency is True, with Auckland-based production company Assembly.

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