By SOFIA ORTEGA

Every time a flight is about to take off, the airline rolls a safety video for passengers. Yet, very often many get distracted and do not watch it.

For this reason, Air New Zealand partnered with the magazine Sports Illustrated to produce the video “Safety in Paradise.” The video was filmed in the Cook Islands, and shows models explaining all safety procedures in case of an emergency.

Air New Zealand debuted the video this Tuesday and will begin to play it in all of its flights commencing at the end of February.

However, what was thought to bring entertainment and work as an attention getter for passengers to prepare in case of an emergency; caught the attention of many in a negatively.

The video unraveled controversy because it showed women with few clothe on. But, isn’t it normal to show women in swimsuits if they are in the beach?

If people get offended because of the bikini, probably New Zealand is not the right destination for these people since they will surely find women in bikini.

Some have praised the company for the marketing strategies, but others have criticized it.

Sexist … malnourished models … not really showing the true beauty of the Cook Islands?

“It seems that suddenly they are saying that my sexuality is all that matters about me,”  Deborah Russell, professor at Massey University, said to the Sydney Morning Herald.

A video showing several models at the beach does not make the company sexist and it does not mean that Air New Zealand is trying to say how women should be or look like. Contrarily, the company depicts the beauty of the Island and its people. And the video has surely attracted plenty of news media attention.

Some people may approve and others disapprove the video, but certainly the company accomplished its goal: to get people to pay attention to the safety video.

The video has gone viral in YouTube reaching more than six million views in less than one week.

In my opinion, Air New Zealand has done a great job with the safety video. It is a creative way of displaying important information that will surely get the attention of passengers.