Aug. 01--IPSWICH -- David Hasselhoff is missing.
Not the "Baywatch" and "Knight Rider" actor himself, but the cardboard cutouts of a tank-top-clad Hoff that local Cumberland Farms stores are displaying in a summer iced coffee promotion.
Ipswich police took a report of Hasselhoff stolen from the downtown Cumberland Farms store sometime overnight on Sunday, July 22.
The missing Hoff has not yet been recovered, Lt. Dan Moriarty said.
Hasselhoff cutouts started to go missing almost immediately after the Framingham-based chain of convenience stores launched the ad campaign, which also features television ads with the "Baywatch" star enjoying an iced coffee on the beach.
Now, the phenomenon seems to have reached the North Shore. A Cumberland Farms spokesperson confirmed that Hasselhoff cutouts have been stolen this summer from each of Cumberland Farms' more than 600 stores at least once and had to be reordered.
Staff at the 70 Central St. location in Ipswich referred questions to a corporate spokesperson this week, who said the company's official statement on the Hasselhoff thefts is: "We take customers' fondness for the ad as a compliment."
There are two Cumberland Farms in Ipswich, on Route 1A downtown and on Route 1, as well as locations in Topsfield and Middleton.
Cumberland Farms seems to have turned the rash of thefts into a marketing tool. Corporate headquarters is encouraging local management not to report the thefts to authorities or file a police report.
On Twitter, Cumberland Farms is encouraging people to tweet a photo of their stolen Hoffs and include the hashtag "IcedHoffee."
Hasselhoff, a Baltimore native, is best known for his starring roles on "Baywatch" and "Knight Rider," but has also appeared in Broadway musicals and numerous reality television shows and has released several albums.
Bethany Bray can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @SalemNewsBB.
Copyright 2012 - The Salem News, Beverly, Mass.
