Wegmans Rehires Baldwin as Spokesman

Commercials featuring actor Alec Baldwin were briefly dropped by Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans Food Markets, following a Dec. 6 incident in which the star of NBC comedy “30 Rock” was asked to leave an airplane, according to published reports. After numerous customer complaints at the move, however, the grocery chain has now reinstated the popular ads.

The ads were pulled when Baldwin declined to turn off his cellphone before the takeoff of an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to New York. “We had perhaps a couple of dozen complaints, and we take complaints from our customers seriously,” Wegmans spokeswoman Jo Natale told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle earlier this week.

According to Natale, the ads were originally filmed for the 2010 holiday season and had begun airing during the 2011 season.

Following the decision to put the ads back on the air, Natale said in a statement on Wegmans’ website: “Clearly, many more people support Alec, as evidenced by the hundreds and hundreds of tweets, e-mails, and phone calls we have received.” She added that the chain would enjoy working with Baldwin again.

Baldwin, who recently considered running for mayor of New York City in 2013, has a personal tie to the grocery chain: His mother, Carol, a resident of upstate New York, is a loyal Wegmans shopper.