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Opinions
Message hits close to home
BY BRIAN K. FINNICUM, EDITOR
Thursday, January 26, 2012 11:31 AM CST
You know, sometimes folks take themselves way to seriously. A case in point is the current flap over a new television commercial by the discount travel folks, Priceline. As you are probably no doubt aware - most anyone who watches any television at all probably is - Priceline has for quite a while been running a series of commercials featuring the actor William Shatner as the “Priceline Negotiator” spokesman, telling us we can “name your own price” for travel accommodations. Now, let me make one thing perfectly clear. I have never used Priceline and I have no idea whatsoever whether the service it offers is any good or not. I am neither endorsing or disapproving of its service - I simply don’t know. But, it seems in the latest round of its commercial series, Priceline wants to get rid of its “negotiator” character. The commercial opens with a bus teetering on a bridge railing, balanced in the center with the back of the bus over the roadway but the front hanging over a deep ravine. The bus is full of frightened passengers, and, of course, Mr. “Negotiator” Shatner.
The commercial, which began airing this week, has a woman passenger on the bus say, “Maybe this vacation wasn’t a good idea.” To that Mr. Shatner replies, “Vacations are always a good idea,” then he launches into a spiel about Priceline’s published-price service as he helps the other passengers off the bus through a rear emergency door. Just after the last passenger gets off, the bus begins to tip and pitches off the bridge, carrying Mr. Shatner with it, and crashes and explodes in a fireball on the floor of the ravine. Don’t mourn for Mr. Shatner, though. According to a Priceline spokesman, although they have killed off the Priceline Negotiator character in this latest ad, Shatner remains under contract as a celebrity spokesman for the company. But, not everyone is happy about this commercial.
It seems that the American Bus Association wants Priceline to pull the ad. The trade group claims the commercial is in bad taste and “damages the reputation of our industry” consisting of intercity bus lines and charter companies. ABA spokesman Dan Ronan said although he doubts the commercial will make anyone afraid to take a bus, “it portrays the industry in a bad light.” He said that in calling to pull the ad, “we’re protecting our brand and our reputation.” Now I may have missed it, but I don’t remember the ABA getting up in arms about the movie, “Speed.” Nor do I remember the airline industry whining about the movie, “Snakes On a Plane.” Come on, bus people. It’s fiction. Lighten up. Seems to me if they persist with their objections, it might be that the commercial is hitting a little too close to home. Rather than pulling the ad, it would not surprise me at all if Priceline decides to throw it into the Super Bowl mix. Speaking of Super Bowl commercials, it was 28 years ago this week, on Jan. 24, 1984 (Can it really be that long?), that Apple ran what is arguably one of the best commercials of all time, with an Orwellian theme, introducing its new Mac-intosh computer. I don’t think the Priceline commercial comes anywhere near that, but it certainly is generating a lot of buzz. Brian K. Finnicum is editor of The News Observer. He can be reached at 706-632-2019, or at brian@thenewsobserver.com.......
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