New Zealand’s national carrier Air New Zealand has teamed up with multi-platinum artist Ronan Keating and young Hunt for the Wilderpeople star Julian Dennison to record a witty Kiwi interpretation of the Christmas Classic “Walking in a Winter Wonderland”. Given the Southern Hemisphere celebrates Christmas in the Summertime, you will quickly understand the direction that the video, named “Summer Wonderland” takes.
Air New Zealand’s General Manager Global Brand and Content Marketing Jodi Williams says of their video, “The idea of sleigh bells and snow doesn’t really resonate for us in the Southern Hemisphere so we wanted to have fun with the concept of ‘carol equality’ and come up with a song we Kiwis and Aussies can relate to.”
“We hope the video will not only spread festive cheer but will also stand out against more traditional Christmas advertising, inspiring travellers to come down and see you don’t need winter to enjoy our wonderland.”
Ronan Keating says that while he and Julian Dennison are an unlikely duo (that’s something of an understatement, no?), they had plenty of laughs recording the antipodean remix.
“I’m a big fan of New Zealand, both the country and the people and also of Air New Zealand. I love their humorous on board safety videos and of course, the great inflight experience. Working with Julian was a breeze – he’s an absolute legend, incredibly professional, and to top it off, he can definitely sing.”
Teenager Julian Dennison said of his role in the short film, “My job in the video is to sell Ronan on the idea of a sunny outdoor Christmas – the kind of day I’m looking forward to sharing with my family, jamming on the guitar or ukulele and chillaxing. For me Christmas is about getting people together and in the groove, so what better way to celebrate than to cut a track on why a Kiwiana Christmas is epic.”
The audio track is available for download here, and you can watch it here:
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