Shortland St actor Jayden Daniels, left, and Joe Naufahu from Game of Thrones go parasailing in a new Air NZ video promoting the Bay of Islands.
Shortland St actor Jayden Daniels, left, and Joe Naufahu from Game of Thrones go parasailing in a new Air NZ video promoting the Bay of Islands.
A new Air New Zealand video promoting the Bay of Islands has racked up more than 600,000 views in its first week.
Called Joe and Jayden's Bay of Islands Challenge, the two-minute clip sees the stars of the airline's acclaimed 2016 air safety video — actors Joe Naufahu (Game of Thrones) and Jayden Daniels (Shortland Street) — return to Northland.
The clip starts with Naufahu having a bet with Daniels about whether they can tick off 10 activities in one weekend in the Bay of Islands, then follows the pair as go parasailing at Paihia, mountain biking at Waitangi, kayaking at Haruru Falls and boating around the islands, finishing with fish and chips at Otehei Bay.
As of yesterday the clip was nudging 500,000 views on Facebook and had passed 180,000 views on YouTube.
In another boost for Northland, the 2016 Summer of Safety inflight safety video filmed in the Bay of Islands and Hokianga has also been brought back to Air NZ screens, replacing a panned rap-style safety video.
Joe and Jayden's Bay of Islands Challenge was made by Air NZ and partly funded by the Bay of Islands Marketing Group, a coalition of tourism businesses.
Shortland St actor Jayden Daniels, left, and Joe Naufahu from Game of Thrones get a soaking at Haruru Falls in a new Air NZ video promoting the Bay of Islands.
Marketing group chairman Charles Parker said the clip was part of a wider social media campaign promoting the Bay.
From February 1 it was also being shown on Air NZ's domestic flights before the quiz, and would screen on international flights from about March 1.
Following the success of Summer of Safety, Parker said the marketing group was keen to work with Air NZ again.
An approach to the airline in mid-2018 culminated in a major social media campaign, of which the new video was only the start.
The marketing group's aim was to encourage more domestic visitors in the April-July shoulder season, but as an added bonus the video would also be seen by international travellers.
He wouldn't say how much the marketing group's 10 members had contributed to the campaign except that it was a ''substantial investment''. Regional development agency Northland Inc had also contributed while council-owned company Far North Holdings had given administrative support but not funding.
Parker was keeping the rest of the campaign a surprise.
''Watch this space. There will be elements rolling out over the next few months which will make the Bay of Islands proud.''
The original Summer of Safety video had also cost the group a significant sum, along with $50,000 from the Far North District Council, but they had had a great return on investment, Parker said.
The safety video was to have run for just six months but ended up being shown for seven. It then returned the following year and had just started a third season.
According to Air NZ Summer of Safety has been seen by 6.1 million airline passengers. It was also viewed 7.4 million times online in the first month after its release.
