- Kenneth Hein

A far cry from his days as Captain Kirk taking on space aliens, William Shatner returns this week to battle the economy in a new Priceline.com TV campaign. In his longest running role, Shatner enters year 11 as the discount travel site’s celebrity spokesperson.

The first new spot shows a middle-aged couple about to enter a hotel when they are captured and thrown into a van by two female agents. There they find Shatner who chastises them by saying: “I could have found a better deal in my sleep, if I slept.”

In his third year as the “Negotiator,” he will be promoting the fact that Priceline.com’s “Name your own price” travel products can help consumers save half off of hotels. Tag: “No one deals like we do.” Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners, Sausalito, Calif., handles.

“These are unsettling times, and people need to know that it’s OK, even good for them, to take time off and take a vacation,” said Shatner in a statement. “The Negotiator reassures them that an affordable getaway is still within their reach.”

Pricline.com spent $36 million on U.S. media for the first 10 months of last year (excluding online), per Nielsen Monitor-Plus. In 2007, it spent $35 million. Print and online ads support the new effort.