There hasn’t been an in-flight safety film for a while that grabs attention by breaking the boundaries of creativity.This new one does. All the more so because it doesn’t come from an airline.
Leo Burnett UK and travel brand, TUI, have created a fun cinematic take on the classic in-flight safety film, Safety: A Global Film. The 4-minute film highlights favourite TUI destinations, scenes, each of which takes inspiration from a different movie genre popular in, or, made famous by, a country – such as ancient Egyptian tombs à la Indiana Jones and Kill Bill-esque Chinese temples. It all then comes together as a bright, vivid, and colourful extravaganza of sights and sounds from around the globe, that follows a TUI passenger and her flight attendant accomplice in a variety of different roles. The film pokes fun at tropes to deliver crucial information about how to stay safe onboard. In one section. The traveller is advised by the flight attendant in the role of spy handler, that “it’s important to fasten your seatbelt” as she flies through the streets in a high-octane car chase during the action segment.Another segment plays on the stereotypical neo-noir plot of unravelling a sinister conspiracy, as the narrator discloses, “all the signs were there… no smoking on board”. The film ends with the protagonist and attendant returned to the TUI plane, directing passengers to the additional safety instructions, and providing a cheeky “wink” to the adventures that may lie ahead for those on board.
The ambitious creative was produced by Missing Link Films and directed by the award-winning Alicia MacDonald. It involved working with Bollywood choreographers, dance troupes and historical clothing experts, to create a truly authentic film.
Safety: A Global Film will run onboard on TUI Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft as well as selected Boeing 737s across most of TUI’s European markets. To ensure relevance across all markets, Leo Burnett UK collaborated with local agencies from relevant regions within its parent company, Publicis Groupe. As a result, 28 different versions of the film were made across eight different languages, each with precise and accurate rendering of the original source material.
Mark Elwood, chief creative officer at Leo Burnett UK, stated, “What a great brief. This cracker has been a true labour of love from our brilliant TUI Team. Taking inspiration from popular film genres from across the globe (destinations for TUI), the attention to detail, the craft and humour will hopefully entertain and inform our audience in equal measure. Please fasten your seatbelts and pay attention until the end of the film.”
Toby Horry, global brand and content director at TUI Group, added, “The safety briefing is an essential part of any flight, and its vital passengers pay full attention. There’s no better way to achieve this than with a brilliantly-crafted and engaging film – and I’m delighted with the end result.”
Alicia MacDonald, director at Missing Link Films, commented, “Film genre jumping via a droll flight attendant and an intrepid passenger? Hot dammit, yes please! I am overwhelmingly proud of what our incredible Missing Link Films team achieved. Everyone went above and beyond to elevate the film away from predictable parody and into something entertaining, imaginative and informative.”
Credits
Client: TUI
Client Team: Christian Torres, Philipp Michel, Felicity Walker & Jennifer Litherland
Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett
CCO: Mark Elwood
Creative Directors: Rob Tenconi & Mark Franklin
Creative – Copywriter: Helen Rogerson
Creative – Art Director: Owen Hunter Jenkins
Designers: Tomek Drozdowski & Phil Bosher
Planner: Aileen Baker
Business Lead: Lauren Martin
Account Team: Robert Ellen & Selen Demirel
Agency Producer: Dominique Strouthos & Samuel Smith
Production Company: Missing Link Films
Director: Alicia Macdonald
Producer: Ben Link
Executive Producer: Heather Link
Production Manager: Sorcha O’sullivan
Casting: Emma Garrett, Garrett Casting
DoP: Benedict Spence
Costume: Sharon Long, Barbara Kuznar & Eka Bichinashvili (Bg)
Service Company: Abroad Films (Bulgaria)
Service Producer: Attila Horvath
Line Producer: Anatoli Netchev
Production Designer: Eva Ventova
Hair & Make-Up: Svetoslava Slavova
1st AD: Denys Shvets
Camera Operators: Julian Atanassov & Kaloyan Ignatov
Stunt Coordinator: Teodor Tsolov
Offline Editor: Phil Hignett, Marshall Street Editors
Post-Production Company: Elmntl
Post Supervisor: Antonio Jimenez
Post Producers: Rosanne Crisp & Jenna Le Noury
Grade: Simona Cristea @ Coffee&TV
Audio Post-Production Company: The Futz Butler & Joe Marsden @ Elmntl
Music Supervisor & Producer: Calum Price @ Big Sync
