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Qatar Airways, Barcelona soccer stars team up for solid new safety video


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In October, FC Barcelona and Qatar Airways failed to reach a deal to keep the carrier's logo splashed across the soccer team's shirts for another four years. The current sponsorship deal expires in June 2016 and, when negotiations resume, Barça hopes to make a jaw-dropping €70 million ($76.8M) to keep advertising for the airline. Until then, though, the club, its superstars and Qatar Airways have agreed to collaborate on this safety video, which is glorious.

The ad, which was filmed in and around the club's stadium, Camp Nou, shows fans, club personnel and even the officials demonstrating the various steps of in-flight safety. Leo Messi pays attention (sort of) to a diagram of the plane's exits, the sight of dreamy defender Gerard Piqué causes several women to require their oxygen masks and Luis Suarez is distracted by the whistle attached to the inflatable life vest (given Suarez' history of biting people, there's no way anyone is going to secure his oxygen mask).

Earlier this year, Air New Zealand enlisted members of the All Blacks rugby team for its own safety video and Emirates crew members demonstrated some "match safety" techniques in front of Benfica fans — one of the seven soccer clubs it sponsors. Emirates also sponsors Real Madrid — Barcelona's biggest rival — so we're looking forward to its own competing safety video. "Oh, you think Messi knows how to find his way off a plane? Just wait until Ronaldo does it."