Was Priceline REALLY going to kill off William Shatner as the frontman its long-running TV ads? Of course not, it was probably just another chapter in the campaign.
The obituaries were wide ranging for Shatner as The Negotiator in the aftermath of his "final ad" was being aired in January this year, when the former-Captain Kirk of Star Trek fame tumbled off a bridge - apparently to his death.
But anyone that has seen how Shatner and Priceline have become synonymous with each other over the years, and understand how the Priceline marketing (both above and below the line) machine works, would predict that there was always going to be more to come.
Kill off the star man; trigger rounds of coverage in multiple forms of media (B2B marketing titles, mainstream media, blogs, etc); then slowly bring him back to life; cue more coverage, etc, etc.
Even in April this year, three months after his tragic - but probably temporary - death, a grinning CEO and president Jeff Boyd, during an interview with CNBC when asked about a possible return, said: "We will have to wait and see what happens to Mr Shatner."
And, lo and behold, it looks like Shatner's opportunity for a resurrection is starting to kick in.
Priceline just released a new TV ad featuring - you got it - the ghost of Shatner: