Priceline killed off William Shatner, AKA “The Negotiator” because he became too well-known for one of their services. Needing to promote another line of services, Priceline feared Shatner’s character was too iconic for the negotiated pricing to work for the fixed price services.

Spokespeople and characters are powerful advertising tools because “people buy from people.” In using spokespeople and characters, such as the Geico Gecko and the Nationwide actor, companies are creating a persona that consumers can connect with. However, there are pitfalls to this tactic if not used wisely.

• Because William Shatner was scripted solely as “The Negotiater”, Priceline has to abandon their investment in him when they want to broaden their advertising campaign to promote what is currently their fastest growing line of business, the fixed price offering. After spending 14 years identifying their brand with Shatner, they are going to have to start anew with this new line of service, building a new brand identity from scratch.
• Think of the famous endorsers, such as Tiger Woods, who have had pitfalls in public life. Any corporate endorsements he was working on were cancelled or re-negotiated. Celebrities, whether they are actors, politicians, sports stars, entertainers, or the newer category of those famous for being famous,  are risky spokespeople as companies can’t control their every move.
• Nationwide and Progressive are having great runs with their actor spokespeople. Nationwide’s “The World’s Greatest Spokesperson” and Progressive’s “Flo” have characters, similiar to Shatner’s, that are carefully scripted, but that are portrayed by lesser-known actors. As a result, they are probably spending less, and we will have to watch and see how flexibly they can portray the brand in the coming months and years. 
• Staying in the same industry, Geico’s Gecko is still in use, but has been joined by the Caveman and the Pig who promotes the mobile app. It’s interesting to note, however, that Geico’s ad campaigns don’t just revolve around the one character. They have multiple campaigns which will give them quick adaptibility should there be sudden notice that there is international trafficking in geckos or that a remote tribe of cavemen has been found in eastern Russia.

People do buy from people. Just make sure they can buy from many people, not just one.