Brad and Angie: Globalicious

46. ATLANTA — Before YouTube, redheaded, blue-eyed, high-cheekboned Katherine Lee was just another beautiful flight attendant who worked for the nation's third-largest airline.

Next month, up to 80 million Delta Air Lines passengers worldwide will know her as the face of Delta's newest safety video, in which Lee walks fliers through government-mandated safety instructions with a smile and a playful wag of the finger.

Lee breathes fresh life into the phrase, "Make sure your seat belt is fastened," establishing a new focal point of interest for frequent fliers tempted to tune out the routine message.
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The safety video generated such a buzz after being posted on the Atlanta-based airline's corporate blog and on the video Web site YouTube that admirers dubbed the 33-year-old Atlanta woman "Deltalina," a combination of the airline's name and Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, who they say she resembles.
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"The main focus is to get our customers' attention and make sure they know what to do in the event of an emergency ... adding bits of humor and unexpected twists to something pretty standard," says Chris Babb, a Delta product manager in charge of producing the video. "We went through a rebranding last spring — we wanted to do something that injected the new brand, portrayed Delta in a more modern way."

The airline declined to disclose how much the video cost to produce.

On the soundtrack behind the mandatory Federal Aviation Administration safety instructions — such as how to buckle a seat belt, how to wear an oxygen mask and when to put away a cell phone — the new video is backed by a smooth jazz drumbeat and ethereal electronic tones. In one spot, the viewer suddenly sees a digital sparkle on the smile of a shaven-headed male flight attendant who is demonstrating how to properly wear a life vest.

There's also the finger wag. Halfway through the 4-1/2 minute video, Lee unexpectedly and playfully wags a long finger at the camera while instructing that "Smoking ... is not allowed, on any Delta flight."

"I hope they are holding classes for all ... FAs (flight attendants) on how to do the finger-wag," one viewer wrote on the Internet airline forum Flyertalk.com.

Every few years, airlines typically refresh safety videos, which free crew members from performing a live safety demonstration on a flight. Babb said Delta considered different styles of videos, including a popular animated safety video by Virgin Atlantic, but in the end opted for a version with a Delta employee speaking directly to the audience.

Deborah Cohn, associate professor of marketing at Touro College in New York, said Delta's video may have more staying power with passengers than regular airline safety videos but she thinks the video's "edgy" music, could make passengers jittery.

"It really captures your attention — the woman in the video is beautiful and you can't take your eyes off her," she said.

David Stempler, president of the passenger advocacy group Air Travelers Association, said the new safety video provides a "very consistent message for the passenger."

"Anything to make it more lively is going to get passengers' attention," Stempler said. "Although it's a very serious subject, they handle it in a very good way."

The video, made on a Boeing 757, was completed in mid-January after two 16-hour workdays in Atlanta.

Employees last fall auditioned for the role. The airline whittled down a list of 82 flight attendants and selected 10, including Lee. Four appeared as flight attendants in the video and the other six appeared as "passengers." The lead flight attendant wasn't selected until immediately before the filming.

Lee, a 10-1/2 year employee who now trains other flight attendants at the airline's Atlanta headquarters, was selected in part because she already was comfortable being in front of other people, Babb said.

But can "Deltalina" (who's single, by the way) come to terms with her new fame?

"I was on vacation ... and when we landed in Munich, one of the passengers comments, 'Aren't you that girl in the safety video?"' Lee said. "It's been kind of interesting. With students I'm teaching, I feel like a rock star. I wanted to do this since the first day I became a flight attendant. Ten and a half years later, I finally made it."

Posted at 1:41PM on Mar 22nd 2008 by brangie

47. Kandie #15

Trust me, they are better.
Now stop being jealous.

Posted at 1:45PM on Mar 22nd 2008 by Weirdos

48. .
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It's incredible how jealous you people are that post the negative comments.
You have petty, meaningless lives and you cannot stand to hear about 2 people who are:
-better looking than you
-more generous than you
-sexier than you
-all around better people than you

no matter what you SAY, you KNOW it's true
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Posted at 1:46PM on Mar 22nd 2008 by Weirdos

49. It's incredible how jealous you people are that post the negative comments.
You have petty, meaningless lives and you cannot stand to hear about
2 people who are:
-better looking than you
-more generous than you
-sexier than you
-all around better people than you

no matter what you SAY, you KNOW it's true .

Posted at 1:47PM on Mar 22nd 2008 by Awww, don't cry

50. Agree with their lack of character. Homebreakers create a lot of misery in the world, especially when they have children. And the way they make their money is not that honorable either. They have very little talent and are very boring, average people in reality. BUT they both happen to have the right politics for Hollywood at this particulat time in the history of this country. Too bad society rewards to such an extent and even glorifies this kind of undeserving or very-little deserving people.

Posted at 12:07PM on Mar 25th 2008 by Myriam & family

51. you knew they ' r better just now ?

Posted at 2:10PM on Mar 22nd 2008 by Tafa

52. !!

Posted at 2:32PM on Mar 22nd 2008 by mz

53. I commend them. However, I commend anyone who gives money to charity and/or good causes. If their combined salaries/incomes are to be believed, donating this amount would not make a dent. I commend anyone who donates to any cause.

Posted at 2:33PM on Mar 22nd 2008 by DM

54. once again,I don't care what anyone thinks thay know about brad an angie. thay realy are good people, and I would much rather give my money to a good cause, like say to help cure a devitating disease, oooh like lets say aids or any of the rest of the hell hole diseaseis out there in the real world. hell might even spend some on a few neady childeren to.but you can bet your sweat ars I'm gona keep having a blast no matter what folks think thay know. as for jen.A, she made her choises just like brad n ange, so for those people that have a hard time with reality I sudgest yal learn to deal wit it!! It just burns my ASS to think the fedral gov has wasted six-trillion bucks of our tax dollars to stetle a personal vendetta for gorge bush in Irak, that war should'v never left afganatan.

Posted at 2:47PM on Mar 22nd 2008 by Robert

55. I do agree that Jolie, who has a MOVIE THEATER FORHEAD, and Pitt are quite generous for donating 8 million dollars. However, did they not make 5 million dollars selling Shiloh's first pictures? Come on!?! How much did they make for selling Pax's pictures to PEOPLE Magazine? The picture's where Jolie had Maddox sleeping in a bed with Pax? Jolie is so coniving and controlling that it is actually scary. She is such a NUT. Pitt should take the kids and run, except for Maddox, who is Jolie's favorite. She just adores Maddox and could never be without him.

Posted at 2:56PM on Mar 22nd 2008 by Stephanie

56. To Babwa -
Looks like you're carrying a lot of baggage with you, honey.

Posted at 3:48PM on Mar 22nd 2008 by haha

57. Why is it that if you have a different opinion from some other readers, you are automatically called jealous? That's silly. Good analogy -- if someone was a huge fan of the KKK and I disagreed with them, would I be jealous, that down deep inside I want to cover myself with a white sheet and ride around the countryside? Just as ridiculous that assumption is, saying that anyone who isn’t a fan of Jolie is jealous, is just as ridiculous.

PS. Now remember, don’t mix up AJ and the KKK and send me hate messages, just giving a for instance.

Posted at 5:14PM on Mar 22nd 2008 by Curious

58. Curious----Right on!

Posted at 5:46PM on Mar 22nd 2008 by tryharder

59. Enough is enough.

Paul Newman has created a way for HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars to be donated and yet we never talk about him. This is a publicity stunt by two self-absorbed people. Eveyrthing they do is orchestrated. I personally know that every time their picture is taken, they could have slipped out a back door but chose to go through the front door. Publicity whores.

Celebrities such as Paul Newman, Bill Gates, and many , many others given millions away and are not congratulated on it.. They do for our future children, not a publicity stunt. Brad supposedly gave away $4,000,000 and he made over $45,000,000. That's roughly 10%. I also give 10% away yearly to my church and children in our area that are going without. Should you make a shrine for me as well. I make under $30,000 a year and give the same percerntage away. Do the math people

Posted at 10:23PM on Mar 22nd 2008 by enough is enough

60. I mean they are my bessst..but they gotta stop livin in sin and get married, if they didnt .

Posted at 6:04PM on Mar 22nd 2008 by tafa