In the United video, in many scenes, the more interesting thing is the Rube Goldberg machine distraction, not the actual safety information they're supposed to be conveying.

They even do split-screen to add in distraction, when they're trying to show something visually in the less-interesting window. (Worst lesson ever mis-learned from TikTok.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jep3RR2yEXA

Did they consciously decide that most people have heard the instructions many times, and the best the airline can hope for is that passengers pause and look up from their personal devices, and maybe subconsciously reactivate those neurons even the slightest bit... as better than nothing?

Or did the creatives simply get carried away, and no one reined them in?

Wow, that video is way over the top. It's almost creepy that, as the in-video flight attendant is explaining the safety of the seat buckle, the camera is actively panning away from her to focus on the motion of the ball