TheDesignAir –Air India launches new safety video, doubling down on Indian heritage
Air India has had a challenging launch of a new brand in our eyes. How can an airline both represent and value a nation’s pride while also modernising its image to the international stage. While the airline originally launched a new brand and livery that fell flat, the carrier has slowly been building the much needed tapestry of Indian culture to offset the ‘blandalised’ master brand.
While Qantas revealed a lengthy and overly complex destination-based video, Air India have seemingly managed to find the sweet spot with their new ‘Safety Mudras’, the airline’s new inflight safety video. It seamlessly blends safety instructions with the kaleidoscope of India’s vibrant culture and does so in a highly engaging way. Developed in collaboration with the visionary trio of Prasoon Joshi of McCann Worldgroup, Shankar Mahadevan and Bharatbala, the video has been crafted to engage passengers and showcase the diversity and depth of the Indian culture, while delivering essential safety information.
For centuries, Indian classical dance and folk-art forms have served as mediums of storytelling and instruction. Air India’s new inflight safety video integrates safety instructions with mudras or dance expressions in eight diverse dance forms – Bharatnatyam, Bihu, Kathak, Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, Odissi, Ghoomar, and Giddha – from around the country. Each featured dance form presents a specific safety instruction, providing vital information in an engaging and culturally immersive manner.
Campbell Wilson, CEO & MD, Air India, said: “As a flag carrier of the country and a longstanding patron of Indian art and culture, Air India is delighted to present a work of art that is designed to deliver essential safety instructions while showcasing India’s rich cultural diversity to travellers around the world. Our guests will find this inflight safety video to be more immersive and informative, and a warm welcome to India from the moment they step onboard.”
Featuring music composed by Grammy Award-winning music composer and singer Shankar Mahadevan, the video invites passengers to experience a harmonious fusion of safety and culture. This project, spanning approximately six months, involved creators travelling and capturing the essence of India visually through mesmerising locations across the length and breadth of the country.
The safety video will be initially accessible on Air India’s recently introduced A350 aircraft, which is equipped with state-of-the-art inflight entertainment screens. It will be progressively deployed on other aircraft in Air India’s fleet.
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