Name: Airline safety videos.
Age: Around since the 1980s.
Appearance: Increasingly elaborate.
Oh God, this might be the most boring Pass Notes yet. Honestly, who watches airline safety videos? Loads of people. You have no idea. Half a million people have watched the new British Airways one.
Well, yeah, because they’re all trapped on a plane with nothing else to do. Sorry, I should clarify. Half a million people have watched the new British Airways one on YouTube.
Hang on, they’re watching an in-flight safety video at home? Of their own accord? That’s right, yes.
Why? Because it’s quite good. The five and a half minute video, entitled May We Haveth One’s Attention, sees a number of figures inspired by classic British literature being interrupted by BA staff. It was directed by Sharon Maguire, who made Bridget Jones’s Diary, with costumes by the Oscar-winning designer Jenny Beavan.
And it’s going down well? Apparently so. One of the many positive comments it has received on YouTube reads: “This is the single most impressive safety video I have ever seen.”
Wow, what a gamechanger. Well, not really. Last year’s safety video had Ncuti Gatwa and Robert Peston in it, and a commenter described it as: “Best safety video ever by an airline or should I say ‘brilliant!’”
People on YouTube really are easily pleased. It just goes to show the effort that airlines have to make to get people to watch their safety briefings. It’s so easy to tune out during them – they need to grab and hold your attention.
When did this start? The first video of this kind is thought to be Delta’s film from 2008, in which a flight attendant wags her finger with admirable sass when telling people not to smoke onboard.
Whoa, the excitement. Things escalated quickly, though. Ten years ago, Air New Zealand did a Hobbit-themed video with wigs and costumes, bungee jumps and Taika Waititi dressed as a wizard.
I just watched it! It was amazing! And now you can remember exactly what to do if your plane runs into trouble, right?
Uhhhh … Right?
Sorry, the video was so much fun that I stopped concentrating on the safety instructions. This is the downside of the videos. They require a careful balance between fun and education, and it’s easy to tip too far into the former.
So what’s to be done? Have you tried ignoring the video and just watching the flight attendant’s demonstration instead? All the same information, plus you get to prove to a stranger that you’re better than all the other passengers because you actually pay attention.
Do say: “Safety videos need to work hard to make people watch them.”
Don’t say: “Because the threat of death apparently isn’t enough.”
