I don’t know what kind of admen (madmen?) it takes to create a TV commercial as incongruous and random as this, but I am completely in love with the cinematic treatment applied to our dear old pal KITT in the opening moments. That’s somebody’s KITT replica based on a ’91/’92 Trans Am (the swooping lower rocker design and slightly shorter taillights are a dead giveaway of the model year), and yes that is William Daniels providing voiceover, except that it’s not a new recording and is simply a clip from Knight Rider’s third-season episode “Knight Strike”.
OK, yeah. Knight Rider fan nerdgasm over.
Nevertheless, the entire ad campaign is a love letter to we children of the ’80s who grew up on this high-octane zaniness and are now in charge of children of our own. In the last few years I’ve seen staples of my childhood fall squarely into the crosshairs of big ad executives seeking to poke my nostalgia gland and sweet-talk me into buying their wares with sights and sounds that I once held very near and dear. This suggests that I have now officially entered the age bracket of well-to-do and spendy parents who have lots of money to blow on themselves and their kids.
I don’t know about the “lots of money” part, but I love nostalgia, so bring it on.
Oh — and in case you couldn’t figure it out, it’s a commercial for yogurt. Who knew.
