“Buckle your seatbelt. No smoking. Make sure your seat back and folding trays are in their full upright position.” I’ve heard and tuned out these important safety briefings countless times, bored by the instructions ingrained in my brain and the manner in which they were presented. Recently, though, quirky safety videos from different carriers around the globe have caught and maintained my attention, mixing celebrities and entertainment with informative safety reminders. 

In an attempt to stand out and make passengers pay attention to in-flight safety instructions that often are ignored, airlines such as Air New Zealand, Delta Air Lines and Virgin America have been creating clever, attention-grabbing videos to instruct passengers on how to maintain well-being in the air and in the event of an emergency. The national carrier of New Zealand has released several witty videos, including “Safety Old School Style” with Betty White, “Mile-High Madness with Richard Simmons,” and my favorite, “An Unexpected Briefing,” a Hobbit­-inspired video that has generated more than 11 million views since its debut on YouTube.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBlRbrB_Gnc[/youtube]

Another creator of entertaining safety videos, Delta released its first in 2008, featuring flight attendant Katherine Lee, who has since gained a following as Deltalina. The American carrier’s most recent effort to stand out and instruct pays tribute to all things 1980s and features cameos from 1980s TV star Gordon Shumway (ALF) and Kareem Abdul Jabbar as well as break dancing and metal hair.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eduNjwNvcH4[/youtube]

Other airlines are getting creative as well. Southwest Airlines has its flight attendants get creative with traditional safety messages by letting them rap their announcements. Passengers flying American Airlines, recently merged with US Airways, have videos with “entertainment components” to look forward to in the future, according to Vann Graves, executive creative director of the New York office of McCann Erickson, American’s ad agency, in a report from The New York Times.

Do you pay attention to safety briefings or have you seen an entertaining in-flight video recently?

— Monique Barrett, advertising and editorial coordinator