William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy had some of the best chemistry together both on and off screen. They were magical together when appearing as Captain James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock respectively, and it was Star Trek: The Original Series that made them two of the most beloved members of the Star Trek franchise. And their friendship endured even after the final movie.
Western Airlines, a now defunct airline that ceased operations in 1987, capitalized on the popularity of Shatner and Nimoy by casting them in a 1985 commercial. It was perfect timing as it was right before the 1986 release of Star Trek: The Voyage Home.
The almost forty-year-old ad shows Shatner and Nimoy together aboard a flight, both dressed in casual shirts indicating they're headed out on vacation. Someone asks Nimoy why he wasn't flying the plane, and he responds with "I'm not the captain," which draws a chuckle from both men. A cart rolls up with what looks like an alien island, causing Nimoy to ask why that looks for familiar. Shatner responds with "because we've been there." Western Airlines then uses the tagline "frequent flyers like the future." And Shatner and Nimoy wrap up the ad with a clearly logical line from Mr. Spock.
This wasn't the only commercial that capitalized on the connection between Shatner and Nimoy as, in later years, Priceline brought the two together as well in three commercials where Nimoy replaced Shatner as the Priceline spokesperson, which, not surprisingly, didn't go over too well with Shatner.
Businesses knew the two together worked onscreen, and fans of Star Trek would stop what they were doing once they saw the pair. And they were right. Many fans have called these and other commercials with the friends "timeless" and referring to the former captain and his first officer as "the perfect duo" and "two of the coolest dudes in Hollywood." That says it all.