While I accept that there are people who think they are too important for these rules I can't help thinking that in many cases the issue is a mixture of culture and language. I've noticed that some destinations seem to attract a bigger mix of people standing early than others (and it's been to both "holiday" and "business" destinations). Travelling on English speaking carriers the crew then try and get everyone to sit down but only by asking in English which fails partly because people simply don't listen and partly because the PA is inadequate for the job and partly because of a language barrier.
I think the BA idea of a recording of the safety information in a range of languages is a good one that could be taken further. You exit the runway, the crew welcome you to wherever and tell you local time and not to stand up but it's all in the national language of the airline (or English). Maybe doing it in the language of the destination would also help.