More Than 500 Giant Photo Cutouts Of David Hasselhoff Stolen From Cumberland Farms Stores
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - Some people just can't keep their hands off "The Hoff."
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About 550 giant photo cutouts of actor David Hasselhoff, which are part of a Cumberland Farms advertising campaign, were pilfered from outside the convenience stores in recent weeks.
In the cutouts, Hasselhoff is flashing a dreamy smile and displaying a lean tank top-clad torso in an ad campaign for Iced Coffee or, rather, Iced Hoffee.
Although Cumberland Farms has locations in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, only about 20 remain for the roughly 570 stores in New England and Florida, said Kate Ngo, who works on brand strategy for the Framingham-based chain.
Not that Cumberland Farms is particularly upset about the thievery.
"We want everyone to enjoy the Hoff,'' Ngo said Wednesday. "We're flattered by the attention.''
She added, "We certainly don't encourage theft at our stores.''
Hasselhoff, who just turned 60, is best known in the U.S. for his work alongside a talking car in the TV show "Knight Rider'' and as a lifeguard in "Baywatch.''
He's now hawking iced coffee for Cumberland Farms. The cutout shows him from the waist up in a tank top, holding the coffee over the word, "Thirsty?'' Ngo said the campaign with Hasselhoff started in May with TV commercials, and the outdoor sign campaign began this month. In the commercials, Hasselhoff exclaims the coffee is "Hofftastic."
Theft is common at retail stores, Ngo said, but "this particular campaign is probably a higher rate of theft than anything we've ever seen.''
Ngo said the chain will keep sending signs to stores that need them until the campaign ends in August. She wouldn't share how much they've spent on replacements.
The company will use its Facebook page to ask people to stop taking the signs. It also has a request for anyone who already has one.
"We want to know at least the Hasselhoff is safe and he's being taken care of,'' Ngo said.
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