Germans love them some David Hasselhoff. The Hoff is most famous for two roles; Mitch Bucannon in Baywatch and Michael Knight in Knight Rider. However, it’s the latter that car enthusiasts know of most, as he famously drove a black Pontiac Firebird that had an advanced AI computer called KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand). It was like Iron Man’s Jarvis, just in a Firebird. In this new BMW ad, Hasselhoff talks to KITT as Michael Knight about DEE, the mysterious artificial intelligence BMW’s been teasing for a couple of weeks now.
In the ad, Hasselhoff is sitting in the iconic Firebird, talking to KITT and asks if it knows DEE. KITT claims that it doesn’t know “her” but is looking forward to meeting her in Las Vegas. That’s because whatever DEE is will be unveiled at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2023. Hasselhoff then says “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” to which KITT responds “Not in this case.”
That last line seems to suggest that whatever DEE is, she isn’t going to be some publicity stunt but a technology that will make production. If DEE is going to leave Vegas, then she’s seemingly going to be used in future products. KITT also says that DEE is something everyone is going to be talking about. It even engages its own party mode to get ready for DEE’s arrival in Vegas.
BMW is going all out with advertising DEE. First it had Arnold Schwarzenegger trying on elf outfits, now it’s got The Hoff reuniting with KITT. If BMW is marketing DEE this hard, logic says it’s going to be a big deal. The cynic in me, though, says that it better be. With all of this hubbub surrounding the mystery of DEE, she better be worth it or BMW is going to look pretty foolish. What is she going to be? Hard to tell exactly but it’s likely she’s some sort of new digital assistant, similar to Siri or Alexa. Whatever she is, though, we’ll find out next month.