Air New Zealand Takes ‘An Unexpected Journey’ [VIDEO]

Air New Zealand, in anticipation of the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, has released an ad featuring hobbits, wizards, dwarves, and other Elvin creatures acting out an in-flight safety video.

According to Mashable, the video, “An Unexpected Briefing,” is going to be running “leading up to the worldwide release of The Hobbit beginning Wednesday.”

The video is only one part of the content campaign: Air New Zealand is also putting out a global sweepstakes.

Since branded content videos these days are looking more and more like real films, it’s no surprise that Air New Zealand has put out a Hobbit-themed spot. As Adam Kleinberg of AdAge said, “People who work in advertising all secretly wish we worked in Hollywood.”

Brands, such as Air New Zealand, are signing on big time directors to collaborate on content with.

Prada released a short movie directed by Roman Polanski called “A Therapy,” which starred Helena Bonham-Carter and Ben Kingsley. It promoted the tagline that “Prada is for Everyone.”

The electronics company Philips, according to AdAge, “collaborated with Ridley Scott Films to create ‘Parallel Lines,’ a set of short movies that acted as a global ad campaign to tout the cinematic viewing experience offered by Philips’ range of TVs.”