From John T. Peters: My Interview with Air New Zealand’s RICO
John Peters Interviews Rico from Air New Zealand
In the social media world of video, I’ve learned one thing; viral is tough. What one person finds amusing, someone else might find insulting. However, done properly, both of those people will react; forwarding links to others who (you guessed it) react positively and negatively. They then forward the links and so on. The key is to get people talking about you and while you may dance on a line, as long as you don’t cross it, you’re okay. For the record, I’m from NJ and not easily offended. If there’s something I hear on TV or the radio that bothers me, I change the station and don’t give it another thought. If I find it funny, I pass it along. Life is too short not to share laughs. This brings me to my interview.
If you’ve ever been to New Zealand, you know the country is amazingly beautiful. You’ll also find that Kiwis know how to have fun.
Air New Zealand recently hired a spokesman, er, spokesquirrel (or is he a ferret?) to tell everyone about their airline, in-flight service and comfy, new seats. His name is Rico and since I saw his first video, I haven’t stopped laughing. Yes, one or two of them border on naughty, but English isn’t Rico’s first language. I retweeted my love for Rico’s videos and was honored when Air New Zealand offered to let me interview Rico. The interview took place on Skype so forgive a few little voice drops.
For the interview, go to http://bit.ly/RicoPeters
To see all of the Rico series for a big laugh (again, note the content warning) visit: http://www.youtube.com/user/airnewzealand
As for Air New Zealand, they made a big splash with their “Bare Essentials” Safety Video where a few airline staff and execs wore nothing but body paint. I can’t remember the last time I watched a safety video on a plane. This one I’ve watched at least half a dozen times. Much like Southwest, Air New Zealand gets it. Boring is out. Funny is always in. True, “funny” is hard to attain across the board, but in my opinion, Air New Zealand is on the right track. If I could give them an award, I would. By the way, Rico was made by the Jim Henson Company, lest you think this was some little joke. Viral isn’t always dancing cats on YouTube; it takes work, time and investment.
Well done Air New Zealand!
