In preparation for the release of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Air New Zealand has something up its sleeve once again.

Elvin crew members instruct hobbits, dwarves, wizards and other creatures on in-flight safety in their new video, An Unexpected Briefing, which will run leading up to the worldwide release of The Hobbit beginning Wednesday.

Peter Jackson makes a cameo, as well as the digitally animated character Gollum — created by Weta Digital, Jackson's digital effects company behind The Hobbit trilogy. Dean O'Gorman, who plays Fili the Dwarf in The Hobbit, and J.R.R. Tolkien's great grandson, Royd, also make cameos in the video.

Air New Zealand is also offering a global sweepstakes. Count the hidden Elvish codes in the safety video, then visit the website to unlock the code and enter to win a round-trip on Air New Zealand for you and a friend to attend the World Premiere Screening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, six nights accommodation in New Zealand, a movie set tour in Matamata, WETA Cave Visit in Wellington and other great Middle Earth prizes.

The airline is known for its over-the-top flight instruction videos. Past ads have included cartoons, a Richard Simmons dance party and David Hasselhoff riding a toy horse.

What do you think of the latest ad? Let us know in the comments below.