Goodbye to ‘the Negotiator’: Priceline Killing Off William Shatner
- Posted on January 21, 2012 at 9:17am by
Madeleine Morgenstern
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Prepare yourselves: Priceline is killing off longtime pitchman William Shatner.
The method? Death by fiery bus crash.
Starting Monday, the travel deal company will run a 30-second TV spot in which the Negotiator rescues panicked vacationers from a bus teetering over a bridge.
“Save yourselves — some money,” Shatner says, handing his cellphone to a passenger. Then, he and the bus plummet over the edge, followed by a fiery explosion.
“I’m in grief mode,” Shatner jokingly told the Associated Press. “It‘s not the first time I’ve had an iconic character die off.”
Shatner’s been the face of Priceline for 14 years, five of those as the Negotiator, “preaching the gospel of travel bargains,” according to the AP.
But Christopher Soder, CEO of Priceline.com North America, said it was time for a change.
“The challenge is harder to get people’s attention than it used to be. … So we decided to do something really over the top to get the message across,” Soder told the AP. The new ad will be online and Soder hinted may be shown during the Super Bowl.
Still, don’t necessarily count Shatner out for good.
“We only killed off the Negotiator,” company spokesman Brian Ek told CNN Money. “William Shatner is still under contract.”
Watch the spot below:
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Comments (95)
Valkaneer
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 11:42amI have to say I’m giving this a thumbs down. I liked Shatner in the commercials, It was the only reason I ever watched them. There commercials are horrible, but watching Shatner doing them made them funny.
DOWN WITH PRICELINE!!!!
Report Post »KenaiHitchhiker
Posted on January 23, 2012 at 9:19pmI love the commercial. I will hold my approval on the “NEW” commercials till I see them. Who knows, maybe it will be SPOCK.
Report Post »vic138
Posted on January 23, 2012 at 11:21pmIn the next commercial he calls Sulu to beam him up and is saved at the last second.
Report Post »vonMises
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 11:41amOh, come on, people! I can hear Shatner chuckling from here. This whole thing is the very essence of what is called a “Cliff-hanger” (in this case, quite liteerally).
Who doesn’t see the possibilities of an imbrobable rescue, an “It was all a dream” sequence, or some other hackneyed Hollywood trick. As a matter of fact, I’m laughing in appreciation right now.
Report Post »Tower7_TRUTH
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 12:37pmthat is a play off Star Trek Generations, remember Kirk was caught in the Ribbon
In the year 2293, recently retired Captain James T. Kirk, Montgomery Scott, and Pavel Chekov attend the maiden voyage of the Starship USS Enterprise-B. During the voyage, Enterprise is pressed into a rescue mission to save two refugee ships from a strange energy ribbon. Enterprise is able to save some of the refugees before their ships are destroyed and Enterprise becomes trapped in the ribbon itself. Kirk descends to the lower decks to alter the deflector shields, allowing Enterprise to escape. The ribbon makes contact with the ship’s hull and causes major damage to the section Kirk is in; being exposed into space and he is presumed to be dead.
Report Post »jzs
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 1:40pmHe lived long and prospered.
Report Post »Independent Tess
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 2:54pmSurely we will find that he was beamed out of the deadly bus at the very last moment.
Report Post »TheGreyPiper
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 4:27pmINDEPENDENT TESS
That’s right. But please don’t call me Shirley.
Report Post »A Conservatarian
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 6:06pmDenny Crane
Report Post »Phoenixsoulfire
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 7:05pmdefiantly they will bring him back.
Report Post »Dabldo
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 8:10pmThey can’t kill him off ! The commecials were just getting endering for me.
Report Post »Cosmos102
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 8:54pmWhy didn’t he just yell “Beam me up, Scottie!”?
Report Post »antiprogressive
Posted on January 22, 2012 at 12:03amlong overdue.
He sux at delivering lines almost as bad as Beaver Cleaver.
Annoying at listening too.
But to be fair, he never changed just to please viewers like me.
He remains the same terrible actor from start to finish.
And Tower7 – you worry me…
Sorry for sounding so negative about all this.
I just never got into that genre.
I believe Star Trek was the very beginning of children that lived in the TV
instead of going outside, getting some fresh air and exercise, and an
overall well rounded sense of reality.
I was the right age, I was there, I just didn’t get into it.
Report Post »No one in my neighborhood did.
And Shatner is just plain goofy.
WeDontNeedNoSteenkinBadges07
Posted on January 22, 2012 at 1:02amWilliam Shatner? He’s not a starship commander. Or T.J. ******. Or even … American!
“I am Canadian”
Report Post »http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1CwZgb_iAI
WeDontNeedNoSteenkinBadges07
Posted on January 22, 2012 at 1:04amHey, TheBlaze censor! That’s T.J. Hóoker … not a ******!
Report Post »loriann12
Posted on January 22, 2012 at 7:26amI remember when Star Trek was on first run. I wasn’t allowed to watch it, being sent to bed at 7:00 when it came on. Mostly because I asked too many questions (big imagination), but sometime during the (what?) 5 year run, I got to watch it. Me and Captain Kirk saved many universes together. And I still was outside playing most of the time.
Report Post »Cyndee - Tx
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 11:35amSo this advertising agency is so inept and totally lacking in creativity that they can’t just phase out a character, they have to kill him off? What is this 24? Good grief. I actually don‘t really care but it’s just typical of this generation of advertising agencies. They have to use old songs instead of coming up with new theme songs – they use vulgar, sexually explicit images to sell products because they don’t have any really good new ideas. None of these approaches tempt me to buy the products they push.
Report Post »another_mormon_4_Ron_Paul
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 1:52pmIn case you never noticed, ever since I was a little girl commercials use songs that were popular with their target age group. I knew I was getting old when they started using songs that were popular when *I* was a teenager.
Report Post »TheGreyPiper
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 4:28pmMaybe you should try decaf, honey….
Report Post »Clawdewd
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 11:34amWell, the Shat is definitely not hurting, folks. When Priceline first went into business, they realized they would need a big celebrity to get some attention, but their budget was tight, and big names don’t come cheap.
In walks Shatner. He agrees to shoot several commercials for them for no money up front, just shares of stock, making him one of the top owners. Over the past 14 years Priceline has gone from a start-up in much the same condition as that bus to the multimillion dollar company it is today.
And the Shat is laughing all the way to the bank!
Report Post »absolutely
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 11:22amDon’t worry, it’s groundhog day, we’ll be watching this for years to come. Absolutely
Report Post »Bible Quotin' Science Fearin' Conservative American
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 11:31amPriceLIIIIIIIIINNNNEEEEEEE!
Report Post »CanteenBoy
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 11:20amYou Klingon bastard!! You killed my son!
Report Post »ddg7
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 7:26pmExcellent! LMAO!
Report Post »Rob
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 10:54amOne of the great ones…
Report Post »TROONORTH
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 10:44am“Remember . . . . . . . . .. .. . . “
Report Post »Hrothgar
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 10:32amShat happens.
Report Post »hotrodrockets
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 10:30amThey are killing off William Shatner!!!!
… are they going to throw him in the pool?
….. I know I’m a bad guy not politically correct ect. ect.
Report Post »LogicalMetaphysician
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 10:30amThe ads of the many outweigh the ads of the few.
Report Post »Or the one.
TRONINTHEMORNING
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 10:27amNo bigger original Trek fan than me; so I would think Bill could employ his tactics with Priceline as he did with the Kobiashi Maru.
I am such a Trek nerd!
Report Post »felix
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 10:21ami beleive shatner owns priceline
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 10:20amThis is worse than… the Wrath of Khan!
Report Post »deano24
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 2:27pmEven worse than “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier”? Ever notice the United Federation of Planets symbol & the UN symbol look similarly alike.
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 10:18amFor a moment I got excited…I thought it was Newt…
Report Post »Rockyspoon
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 10:15amA bus accident off a bridge?
Are they KIDDING us?
Why not some alien lifeform he ticked off in his Star Trek run? That would be a whole lot more interesting that some silly bus wreck.
These people have NO imagination. (This from a long-time Star Trek fan)
Report Post »AmazingGrace8
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 10:57amI am a trekkie too. The USPO has one of the best ads running right-now. The postman,priority-box mail and the creepy-red-headed-doll that moved from the back of the room to the door, in an instant, and the postman’s reaction….that is funny and well-done.
Report Post »TRONINTHEMORNING
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 11:33amI agree, ROCKY; I guess they could only afford an old bus and had to write around it. Even the fire sfx was lame. Long live Trek!
Report Post »SacredHonor1776
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 11:54amLook at it this way, Kirk fell off a cliff.
“It was… fun. Oh, my…”
Report Post »jank0614
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 10:15amThankfully, his last words are not the most horribly written dialogue in film history (Generations) – “Oh my.” Those are the woosiest final words for a dying hero I’d ever heard. They didn’t do Shatner (or Kirk) any justice at all.
Report Post »MAJORMINOR
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 11:23amListen again…last words…”Save Yourself….Some Money”
Report Post »jank0614
Posted on January 22, 2012 at 10:22pmI did hear. That’s why I said I was glad it was better than his death in the movie Generations, where they only wrote for Kirk’s last words in life to be “Oh my.”
Report Post »Nemo13
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 9:58amCan we put Obama on that bus?
Report Post »Proud Stray Dog
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 4:48pmIf he was on that bus, Shat would have given it a swift kick while proclaiming, “I just save Americans trillions by doing this.”
Report Post »3monkeysmomma
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 9:56amNoooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!
Report Post »vegasjeepguy
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 9:54amTheir gonna hear from PETA about not saving the parrot…
Report Post »kralspaces
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 10:03amGood Eye. Loved it. Hope they show it at the Super Bowl.
Report Post »RaymondA
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 12:54pmNow that’s funny!
Report Post »deano24
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 2:13pmI noticed that too. They also forgot the monkey.
Report Post »sURFNmADNESS
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 11:38pmPETA will also point out the Monkey in the cage at .09 seconds into the ad also on the right side of the bus. To the right of the green hated guy. Missing from the bridge with the 12 passengers and baggage. The bird cage is missing though from the last time we see Shatner and the bus go over the edge.
Report Post »pavepaws
Posted on January 22, 2012 at 1:15amYes.
Report Post »Grasshopper42
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 9:49amHey, he’s Captain Kirk! He’ll be back . . .
Report Post »Doctor11
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 10:31am76.9.5.123 The domain IP for a website running through Jersey and subsequently out of the country: shows victims of torture and in some cases in real time. Site is admin’d by godaddy registered in Scottsdale, AZ. Deviantclips.com.
Report Post »mrfunn
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 9:32amGood news. Is Alec Baldwin next?
Report Post »CatB
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 9:48amOff Alec ….. Dare to dream … DARE TO DREAM ..
Report Post »Proud Stray Dog
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 4:56pmThey need to get Michael Moore first. However, they haven’t found a weapon yet that would go near that bag of blubber. The weapon either falls dead or runs away screaming.
Report Post »Profx72
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 9:31amI heard it as a rumor that Shatner had been killed at my office, and was actually saddened by that news. I was glad when I found out that it was an ad campaign, and I personally think that it’s a very creative ad. 14 years with the same ad program is a pretty decent run, but it has certainly run its course. At least they had fun with it and gave it the sendoff it deserved.
Report Post »http://www.maverickvoice.com
NOBAMA201258
Posted on January 23, 2012 at 3:29pmPROF They killed Shatner at your office?
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 9:29amI guess negotiations finally failed?
Report Post »piper60
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 9:24amWho cares?
Report Post »CRiggsby
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 9:31amObviously You. You felt compelled to comment!
Report Post »