Dubai International Airport (DXB)-based Emirates Airline has taken its latest ad campaign to new heights by having a person dressed as an Emirates flight attendant stand on top of the Burj Khalifa. At 828 meters (2,717 ft), high the Burj Khalifa is the tallest building globally and not a place you would want to fall from.Despite the dangers involved in making the 33-second video, American skydiver and stuntwoman Nicole Smith-Ludvik did not look concerned at all. Emirates decided to make the video to celebrate the United Arab Emirates being moved from the United Kingdom’s red list to amber list. This means that UK citizens can now have a vacation in Dubai without having to quarantine for ten days when they return home.

Smith-Ludvik has five cards with a message

The video starts with a close-up shot of Smith-Ludvik holding five white cards with writing on them. Carefully, she shows the message on the cards to reveal the following words:

  • “Moving The UAE To The UK Amber List”
  • “Has Made Us Feel”
  • “On Top Of The World”
  • “Fly Emirates”
  • “Fly Better”

After she reveals the last card, the camera begins to pan away, and you realize that she is standing on a small platform hundreds of feet up in the air. When speaking about the ambitious photoshoot on her Instagram account, the Emirates flight attendant for a day said:

"This is, without a doubt, one of the most amazing and exciting stunts I've ever done. A big shout out to Emirates Airlines for your creative marketing idea! It was a pleasure being a part of the team."

Did she have a safety harness or parachute?

Watching the video, you can see Smith-Ludvik's scarf blowing in the wind which means it could not have been easy to stand there and swap the cards she was holding. Also, you could not tell if she was attached to a safety harness or was wearing a parachute. Although looking at the video again, it would appear as though she wasn't.

Burj Khalifa
The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. Image: Emirates

The next question that comes to mind was how did she get there in the first place? There are steps on the outside of the antenna to allow access for maintenance. Or she could presumably have been lowered onto the platform from a helicopter. That sounds a little dangerous, though, given how small the platform is.

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It was filmed using helicopters and drones

To film Nicole Smith-Ludvik standing on the world's tallest building, Emirates hired UAE-based helicopter and drone filming company Choppershoot. When speaking about how the filming went on social media, UAE newspaper The National News quotes Choppershoot owner TECS Event Services as saying:

"Being part of such a special project – not only for the fact that we were trusted to help bring this to life (yes, this is very, very real) but also what it means for so many families who have been separated from their families between here in Dubai and the UK. Definitely a project we'll remember forever."

Emirates
UK tourists can now visit Dubai without quarantine when they get home. Photo: Emirates.

I don't know about you, but I would love to see behind-the-scenes footage of how they pulled this stunt off and also hear more from Nicole Smith-Ludvik about it.

What do you think of the Emirates advertisement to celebrate being on the UK amber list? Please tell us your thoughts in the comments.

It would appear as if Emirates was listening to questions regarding how they pulled the stunt off as they posted the following tweet this morning.