William Shatner has returned as Priceline's Negotiator after being killed off seven months ago. It turns out the Negotiator was just surfing.
In a new commercial that hit television and websites this week, William Shatner is back at the Priceline Negotiator. Some thought the Negotiator was a goner as the last commercial, seven months ago, showed him plunging over a cliff.
In the new 30-second commercial, Shatner is standing on a beach wearing a suit, while holding a surfboard and looking out onto the ocean. He is approached by another man in a suit.
"You've been busy for a dead man," he tells Shatner. "After you jumped ship in Bangkok, I thought I'd lost you."
"Surfing is my life now," Shatner replies.
He then gives a quick plug to the travel site as he says "tell the world that Priceline has even faster, easier ways to save you money on hotels, flights and cars." Shatner, or more likely a stunt double for the 81-year-old, is then seen jumping into the waves as he takes off surfing.
In the last TV spot, the Negotiator was saving vacationers from a bus about to fall over a cliff "Save yourselves - some money," he said, before going over the cliff with the bus. A violent explosion followed, leading fans to believe he was gone for good.
Priceline's Negotiator was so popular that there was no way they could have let him die off.
"We had such a positive response to the ad where we appeared to throw him over a cliff that we wanted to find a creative way to bring him back," said Brett Keller, chief marketing officer for Priceline.com.
"He has a lot of fans out there," Keller said.
Advertisers decided to reverse their decision to kill off Shatner's character. Shatner was played the Negotiator for six years and has done 14 Priceline commercials.
"I knew it was a mistake, absolutely," Keller said, as quoted by the Associated Press. Priceline hasn't been doing too well according to their earning reports.
Peter Sealey, adjunct professor at the Claremont Graduate University's school of management and former marketing head for the Coca-Cola Co. agreed.
"You don't give up equity like Priceline had in Shatner. ... It's like Aflac giving up the duck or Progressive (insurance) giving up Flo," Sealey said, as quoted by the Associated Press. Shatner's return "won't correct a bad earning report, but it is the right move."
Priceline just introduced a new product called Express Deals in which they provide information about a hotel's ratings, the neighborhood, its amenities and they offer a special discount price, but the customer doesn't know the name of the hotel until they book it.
Shatner's character of the Negotiator "very much fits the negotiating theme, so it makes sense to incorporate him again,"spokesman Brian Ek said, as quoted by NBC.
Shatner seems to enjoy his role as the Negotiator.
"There's a certain pride in making a character in advertising a popular character," he said, as quoted by AP. "You could look at it as an achievement."
Shatner is famous for his role as Captain Kirk in the popular "Star Trek" series. His character was killed off in the 1994 movie "Star Trek: Generations."
While the Negotiator has made a comeback, Captain Kirk has not yet returned from the dead.
This is not the first time a Shatner character has died in the line of duty. Capt. Kirk, played memorably by Shatner in the "Star Trek" series, met his demise in the 1994 movie "Star Trek: Generations."
Unlike Priceline Negotiator, however, Capt. Kirk has yet to come back from the dead.
While Shatner is back on board with the travel site, he had an embarassing moment while traveling himself recently. While being searched by the TSA before a flight in June, Shatner's pants fell down.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
