Air New Zealand - A Better Way To Fly

Air New Zealand - A Better Way To Fly

How far is New Zealand from the USA? For many US travellers, too far to fly with research showing they imagine it to be 20+ hours away. The reality is of course that a twelve hour flight connects the West Coast of the USA (LA) with Auckland.

Air New Zealand’s new “A better way to fly” campaign seeks to cover off two very different marketing messages. First of all it aims to show that New Zealand is more accessible than people imagine.

Secondly, it wants to show prospective passengers that whatever the distance, Air New Zealand makes flying a pleasure.

The person who seeks to get those two messages across is actor Sam Neill, or more accurately a Kiwi bird called “Pete” for which Sam Neill provides the voiceover.

The ad starts with “Pete” going to the Doctor, who gravely breaks the news that flying is not an option as Kiwi birds of course don’t actually have that ability. Never mind says Pete, he’ll just take Air New Zealand.

He then takes his row opposite an American couple who he talks to for the duration of the LA / Auckland flight, while walking around the cabins and showing off the Air New Zealand experience. This includes a cameo from the real Sam Neill in the business class cabin.

‘A better way to fly’ is a global campaign. Though Pete’s first outing is aimed at the US market, the campaign looks to expand into Asia and Europe over the coming year.

According to Jodi Williams, the airline’s head of brand and content marketing, “This is just the start of a three-year campaign, so you’ll be seeing a lot more of Pete in the coming months.

“We’ve also created a number of shorter videos which talk more about our products, such as the innovative Economy Skycouch and Business Premier, or how easy it is to transit through Auckland on your way to Australia. This is where you’ll really start to see Pete’s lovable character develop.”

The new global campaign has built on an earlier campaign aimed at Australians, also called ‘A Better Way to Fly’, featuring “Dave the Duck”.

‘Dave the Duck’ tried to persuade Australians to fly to the US via New Zealand, adopting a similar style to ‘Pete the Kiwi’ by chatting to passengers on a flight and walking up and down the cabins to showcase Air New Zealand.

Key Take-Away

Both Pete the Kiwi and (his predecessor) Dave the Duck work in terms of getting the Air New Zealand product across in a fun, informative way. The use of an A-List actor in Sam Neill was a nice touch, and got the campaign added press exposure, but our feeling is it may have worked well in marketing terms regardless.