Sun and surf sure winner for Air NZ

Alana Blanchard on Air NZ's Economy Skycouch.

The blend of sun, sand and socially connected surfers is a guaranteed winner for Air New Zealand.

The airline's latest safety video features all that and the fit athletes (both men and women) have deep social media networks with millions of followers already. That's guaranteed sharing through the stars' personal accounts and their sponsors or associated companies including Red Bull, GoPro and Sports Illustrated, are all massive in social media.

Air New Zealand's unambiguous about one purpose of these videos. They allow a small airline at the end of the line to get global exposure they wouldn't get in any other way, YouTube clips become "part of the conversation" and some controversy is not unwelcome.

While Air New Zealand weren't necessarily the first to do offbeat videos they've grabbed the genre with gusto - their work features prominently in any international top 10 list of safety tapes.

Debate over body painted crew members and bikini models in the Cook Islands resulted in mainstream media coverage globally so the word was spread further and wider. It was the airline's first video, the crew in body paint, that generated most complaints (500) to the company compared with 50 people upset enough to complain over the Sports Illustrated shoot. Incidentally, the two American women surfers in the new video who now enthusiastically leverage the beach babe image aren't seen in their bikinis.

While Air New Zealand weren't necessarily the first to do offbeat videos they've grabbed the genre with gusto - their work features prominently in any international top 10 list of safety tapes.

Some have worked better than others. While the latest Hobbit video smashed all previous viewing records, an earlier animated video underwhelmed and for frequent fliers in particular Richard Simmons '80s aerobics overwhelmed. The new surfing video is a balancing act, for enthusiasts the waves could have been more epic but it's great to see some famous faces and the surf road trip vibe is nicely captured. Those who don't care for the sport may find the split screen action a little too much.

Watch: Hobbit cast star in Air NZ video

But they'll watch all the same, and that's what it's all about.

The videos are about safety as well as marketing - giving passengers information that would help them survive a crash.

Airlines are now competing for eyeballs on the plane. Bored inattention during the safety video has been replaced by passengers actively looking elsewhere - their smartphones and tablets.

The reaction of a high school sports team I was with on a flight last year was interesting. When the Sports Illustrated video played both boys and girls were engrossed and if just one of them thought about flight safety instead of gazing at their phone that's a win.

You're a mug if you don't improve your chances of surviving in an emergency. The odds of having to are tiny but if the worst happens anything you've picked up from Mick, Ricardo, Anastasia and the other surfing crew will be worth knowing.

And if you're not interested in the surfers, (whose message is always amplified by flight attendants when you're on the plane anyway) there's always the old standby - the safety card in the seat pocket in front of you.

• Grant Bradley is the Business Herald's aviation reporter who periodically dusts off the board and tries to surf.