Air New Zealand launches Taylor Swift-themed contest

Think you can fill a blank space? Air New Zealand is trying to capitalise on the Taylor Swift’s recent New Zealand trip by introducing a Swift-themed contest to rewrite her lyrics into safety instructions.

Air New Zealand is running a contest to re-write Taylor Swift lyrics into safety instructions for the airline. Image by Air New Zealand Facebook

The pop star was in New Zealand in November filming the music video for her song Out of the Woods. The video was released this week and features the beautiful landscapes for which New Zealand is famous.

Now, the airline has created a contest in honour of the video. People in the US can rewrite the lyrics to Taylor Swift songs to make them about safety and post them in the comment section of their Facebook post. Up for grabs is a pair of tickets to New Zealand and tickets to see Taylor Swift back in the US. For New Zealand applicants, a pair of tickets to LA to see Taylor Swift is the top prize.

This isn’t Air New Zealand’s only attempt to highlight Swift’s New Zealand connection. Earlier in December, Air New Zealand posted a photo of Swift on its US Facebook page asking that after she was done with filming her music video, “how about starring in our next safety video?”

Air New Zealand is well-known for its creative and unusual safety videos, including a Middle Earth-themed one, complete with elves and wizards, and featuring a cameo from Lord of the Rings-star Elijah Wood. Late last year, a Men in Black-themed safety video was released, including a rap to the Men in the Black theme song.

While the airline is looking to follow up on the excitement surrounding Swift’s visit to the country, not everyone was pleased with the video shoot. Conservationists claimed the vehicles taken to a beach near Auckland during shooting may have harmed the nest of the endangered Dotterel. However, the filming company denied harming any birds and made a donation to a breeding program for the birds.