Don’t mess with The Hoff, and don’t try and stop thieves from stealing David Hasselhoff ads either.
That’s the lesson one incredibly unlucky convenience store clerk learned when he tried to stop a group of thieves from nabbing two outdoor ads featuring the former “Baywatch” star.
Instead of saving the two life-sized Hasselhoff ads, the clerk at a Connecticut Cumberland Farms ended up being dragged behind the perps’ SUV and is now in critical condition with a head injury, according to the Stamford Advocate.
The police have reviewed video surveillance of the incident and are looking for the male driver of the SUV as well as his female passenger and a male pal who was sitting in the back seat.
According to the police, the driver of the SUV pulled up next to the two life-sized Hoffs, cut them off the light pole they were attached to and put them in the trunk of his vehicle. The clerk, seeing what happened, then approached the SUV to get the signs back but was struck when the vehicle sped away.
Besides staring in TV shows like “Baywatch” and “Knight Rider,” The Hoff is also a major recording artist in Germany, which might be why the New England-based chain ran a series of ads over the summer for its iced coffee where the aging hunk is singing about how he is “Thirsty for Love.”
Accompanying the TV ads were cutout ads featuring Hasselhoff that were distributed to the 570 Cumberland stores throughout New England and Florida.
Unfortunately for the company, the ads became cult hits for thieves and by July there were only 20 left in the entire country, Cumberland Farms brand strategy specialist Kate Ngo told the AP in July.