Message #79 From:
NewsBot Date: January 16, 2007 03:43:00 PM
PCLN News William Shatner Takes Center Stage In New Priceline Negotiator Advertising Campaign
NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This week, priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN) and William Shatner will
celebrate almost a decade of collaboration with the official launch of a
groundbreaking new advertising campaign that features Mr. Shatner and
highlights priceline.com’s unique ability to
negotiate great travel deals on behalf of its millions of customers. The
campaign contains broadcast, print and online elements.
In 1997, priceline.com first contacted Mr. Shatner about representing
its new and then-unproven Name Your Own Price®
travel service. “We were looking for a figure
who was trustworthy, known for having futuristic ideas, and instantly
identifiable across multiple generations,”
said priceline.com’s Chief Marketing Officer
Brett Keller. “Bill met those criteria. The
match was so successful that we believe our partnership is one of the
longest-running company/celebrity relationships in advertising history.”
The relationship has certainly been a winning one for all involved.
Priceline.com introduced its first ad campaign in April 1998 and, by
year end, priceline.com was one of the best-known brands in the online
space. Priceline.com quickly became a leading online travel service,
with gross bookings growing from $40 million in 1998 to over $3 billion
in 2006.
While priceline.com’s gross bookings continued
to grow, so did the savings for its customers. To date, priceline.com
customers have saved over $6 billion on their travel purchases.
Recently, priceline.com expanded to Europe, where it operates one of the
leading online hotel reservation services in 40 countries in 12
languages and offers its customers in Europe and the U.S. access to
approximately 25,000 participating European hotels.
The priceline.com campaigns provided Mr. Shatner with a forum to
showcase his comedic talents. Priceline.com’s
Troubadour campaign, featuring a singing William Shatner, was so popular
that it was spoofed by Jay Leno, parodied on Saturday Night Live,
lampooned in MAD Magazine, and even featured as a question on Jeopardy
and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. “Those
references were high tribute, because they clearly demonstrated that we
had cut through with the brand message and embedded it into pop culture,”
said Mr. Shatner.
“Most celebrity spokesperson campaigns are
short-lived, either because the celebrity has lost audience appeal or
the ad treatment has gotten stale,” said Mike
Shine, Co-Creative Director of Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners (BSSP),
priceline.com’s advertising agency. “Neither
has occurred here. Bill’s popularity is
growing and priceline.com continues to find fresh ways to present its
message.”
The Negotiator campaign represents another groundbreaking step for
priceline.com. In past campaigns, Mr. Shatner has appeared as himself in
a supporting role to the priceline.com brand. In the new campaign, he
plays the role of priceline.com’s tough chief
negotiating officer, taking viewers behind the scenes to see the unique
ways in which priceline.com negotiates the best possible deals on behalf
of its customers and going to extremes to help customers find the deals
that are right for them. His commitment is reflected in the campaign’s
tagline - No One Deals Like We Do. “As the
relentless and effective Priceline Negotiator, Bill embodies everything
we do at priceline.com to find our customers the best possible travel
deals and provide them with more ways to save than any other major
online travel service,” said Keller.
“We took our inspiration for The Priceline
Negotiator character and the stylistic elements of the campaign from the
classic spy genre of the 1960s – films like
the original Bond movies and Our Man Flint, and TV shows like The Man
From U.N.C.L.E.,” said Shine. “The
Negotiator is cool, in-control and obviously well-traveled, but willing
to go to any length to get a fellow traveler a great deal.”
Each spot opens with a frantic telephone call to The Negotiator in his
secret lair. A consumer needs him to intervene and secure a great travel
deal. Of course, The Negotiator can’t refuse.
With an arsenal of tricks, tools and charm, The Negotiator speeds to the
scene and nails down the deal. “The campaign
presents priceline.com’s core brand assets in
a breakthrough, culturally relevant way that will extend beyond
traditional advertising to foster a deeper level of engagement with
consumers,” said Cort Cunningham,
priceline.com’s Director of Advertising &
Brand Development.
To see all of priceline.com’s new travel
services, visit:
Priceline.com Incorporated (Nasdaq: PCLN) operates priceline.com, a
leading U.S. online travel service for value-conscious leisure
travelers, and Priceline Europe, a leading European online hotel
reservation service.
In the U.S., priceline.com gives customers more ways to save on their
airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises
than any other Internet travel service. In addition to getting all the
best published prices, leisure travelers can narrow their searches using
priceline.com’s TripFilter™
advanced search technology, create packages to save even more money, and
take advantage of priceline.com’s famous Name-Your-Own-Price®
service, which can deliver the lowest prices available.
Priceline Europe operates one of Europe’s
fastest growing hotel reservation services through its Booking.com
network of hotel reservation services, Activehotels.com and
priceline.co.uk. Priceline Europe operates in 40 countries in 12
languages and offers its customers in Europe and the U.S. access to
approximately 25,000 participating European hotels.
Priceline.com also operates the following travel websites:
Travelweb.com, Lowestfare.com, RentalCars.com and BreezeNet.com.
Priceline.com also has a personal finance service that offers home
mortgages, refinancing and home equity loans through an independent
licensee. Priceline.com licenses its business model to independent
licensees, including priceline mortgage and certain international
licensees.
About Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners
BSSP is a full-service marketing communications agency based in
Sausalito, CA. The agency provides services in advertising, online,
design and brand consulting through its four divisions, Butler Shine &
Stern, SF Interactive, GARGANTUA and Influx Strategic Consulting. One of
the largest independent agencies on the West Coast, BSSP is recognized
for its ability to provide highly creative, fully accountable marketing
solutions to a broad array of marketers including priceline.com, MINI
Cooper, Converse, LucasArts, Diageo Chateau & Estates, Sun Microsystems,
The Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences, VeriSign and Nike.
