That Inscrutable Vulcan Joins Captain Kirk as a Priceline Pitchman
By STUART ELLIOTT
Published: December 22, 2003
Acrooning William Shatner has proved such a marketing success for Priceline.com that the company, an online travel service, has decided to reunite him with his former starship mate, Leonard Nimoy, for a commercial.
Mr. Shatner, who played Captain Kirk in the "Star Trek'' television series and films, will join Mr. Nimoy, better known as Mr. Spock, in a TV commercial tentatively scheduled to begin the week of Jan. 19. The spot will promote Priceline's different ways to buy airline tickets.
Brett Keller, the chief marketing officer at Priceline.com, declined to discuss the commercial in detail before it runs. So it is unclear if Mr. Nimoy will warble his renditions of hit songs, as he - and Mr. Shatner - have done on albums that are beloved by connoisseurs of the truly offbeat. The two men even share an album cover on "Spaced Out: The Best of Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner,'' a 1997 release to which each contributed his inimitable stylings, including "Mr. Tambourine Man'' and "It Was A Very Good Year'' (Mr. Shatner) and "Put a Little Love in Your Heart'' and "I Walk the Line'' (Mr. Nimoy).
The new Priceline commercial is expected to borrow from "Star Trek" motifs. Mr. Nimoy, whose often inscrutable Vulcan character of Mr. Spock kept humans wondering about his true feelings, will probably represent Priceline's traditional "opaque'' sales method, which leaves travel consumers guessing until the end which airline they are booking.
Mr. Shatner, whose Captain Kirk wore his heart on his sleeve, will probably represent Priceline's newer, open method, one that is used by competitors including Expedia.com and Orbitz.com, which identifies the carrier as the tickets are purchased.
After considering ideas like signing several "Star Trek" cast members, "we decided it made the most sense to bring in the single biggest name as the alternative voice, and that was Leonard Nimoy," said F. Stone Roberts, chairman and chief executive at the Priceline ad agency, Gotham in New York, which is owned by the Interpublic Group of Companies. "It ought to be a fun spot that gets talked about a lot."
If Mr. Nimoy has any thoughts on the matter, he, like Spock, is keeping them to himself. A spokesman for Priceline, Brian Ek, said that when the company agreed to hire Mr. Nimoy, it did not pay him extra to do "media work,'' including interviews with reporters. STUART ELLIOTT
i loved those priceline commercials with will shatner. it would be nice to see them onscreen together again. if the chemistry is still there they should be pretty funny.
poor, poor, scotty. no respect i tell ya. no respect.
12-24-2003 05:11 PM
no respect i tell ya. no respect. 
