I think even Delta Airlines is surprised with all the recent buzz over their new in-flight safety video (which you can watch at the end of this post). Katherine Lee, a 33 year-old striking redhead and actual Delta employee, is the star of the video and explains how to exit during an emergency and which portable electronic devices are allowed.
It’s no secret that putting attractive people in a video will increase the chances that people will pay attention to it. That’s why beer commercials feature attractive and fit men and women. Try sitting outside a liquor store for an hour and watch who walks out with cases of beer- I can promise you only a small portion (if any) customers will look like the people you see in the ads.
Delta obviously knew what it was doing when it chose Miss Lee (who is single) to start in their video. But I think everyone was surprised as the fact that while on vacation, she was approached by people asking if she was the woman from the in-flight video. It’s pretty impressive when people can remember a face from a four minute video shown once at the start of a five hour flight.
So what is the lesson from all this? Is a pretty face enough to attract attention to your brand?
Personally, I think that taking something dry and attempting to spice it up in a classy way gives your customers or audience an unexpected surprise. When people have low expectations for something (such as an airline safety video) and they are surprised by something that’s upbeat and interesting, they’ll pay attention, remember it and, most importantly, talk about it.
It’s kind of like your drive into work. If you’re used to heavy traffic each day and then one morning, there’s no traffic, it completely changes your mood. You notice that there’s no traffic and you focus on your commute more so than on other mornings wondering what happened. When you arrive at your destination, you tell everyone about your commute.
So think of ways you can make some of the more mundane things in your life more interesting. Doing so can help your business, your career or even your social life.
And as promised, here’s the Deltalina video:
James Feudo owns the Boston Web Design Agency JVF Solutions and loves blogging about personal development and communication in his spare time.