NBC airs 30 sec Promo

[PaoloM]

I have an open mind and I will give the show a chance, so no whining and no complaining. But I have to say that I didn't like that promo: it sounded and looked like a Ford commercial, not a Knight Rider teaser. I have a fear that the dashboard will not be too customized to intentionally show the interior of the real Mustang.

[The Keith]

I have an open mind and I will give the show a chance, so no whining and no complaining. But I have to say that I didn't like that promo: it sounded and looked like a Ford commercial, not a Knight Rider teaser. I have a fear that the dashboard will not be too customized to intentionally show the interior of the real Mustang.

I concur.

[Shapeshifter]

Having been in advertising a bit I can appreciate where they went with the commercial. However I think that NBC missed a couple of steps to be a second promo spot.

First: Will Arnet should have been the voice through out this commercial. That would have made it really a kick ass spot. If you have him in the first one then have a different voice in the second, it throws people off especially when he says at the end "enough about me."

As for time frame to add a voice over especially for someone like NBC, they can record, mix, print and have it out within the week if they want to.

Second: i said this before but do not show an unfinished part of the car. better to not show it at all. I am referring to the dash. I Guess MOMO is also part of this deal as well, since their name is easily seen on the steering wheel again. (take it off NBC) this is supposed to be the most expensive car in the world, unique, one of a kind, not some street racers car.

Other than that I liked the concept. the car works for me as a whole and the scanner works.

ck, you make some good points. I think some of this seemingly haphazard promotion has to do with what they have to work with. I know they did one monster session with Will to get the stuff they currently have to use, which covered most on his v/o for the show itself. Their access to Will is limited. They have another session planned soon, but apparently, they didn't have what they needed for that particular spot, so they had to fill in. I know it doesn't make sense if they indeed cut the spot a month ago, they could have had Will voice it, and I don't have an answer there. All I can say is, it appears that the promotion department flies by the seat of their pants sometimes. They were definitely motivated by the success of the first spot to get the second out, and it would appear they didn't have everything they need voice-wise when they did it. I have a feeling that as they have more from the real production to work with, especially visually, the spots will get truer to the movie we'll see Feb. 17th. And that would certainly be true of what we're seeing on the car so far.

[ANDREWHEARNE]

Looks amazing, they certainly have done a lot with the car, cannot wait though hopefully not too long for us to see it in England

[spto]

I'm new here. Please don't hurt me

Anyways youtube has 2 versions of this same ad. One that sounds like KARR and the other one with KITT's voice. (I don't know if this was reported so forgive me if it has) Anyways, i'm not really feeling the car. It really should be a Camaro or something like that. I'm going into this with an open mind and I hope it does well. It would be nice to have Knight Rider (in some form) on the tube again.

[Lost Knight]

I enjoyed the commercial and think it was a good approach. It's obvious to most of us that the "Cruise Mode" (or whatever they're calling it) version of the Mustang is a stock car. So for there to be a commercial about it pretending that it's a stock car on the surface makes sense. It's convincing at first because it has no distinguishing characteristics that make it look different. If NBC Universal were to market the commercial with the Knight 3000 doing shapeshifting, etc., people would be complaining that it looks too stock. At least the way they filmed the commercial acknowledges that they know the car is stock looking.

And yes, I agree that the voice-over sounds a lot like Peter Cullen's version of K.A.R.R. And I also agree with what was said earlier in the thread that NBCU shouldn't show too much of the car that's incomplete. It's probably better to show nothing at all. Even the 15-second teaser showed that glimpse of the analog gauge which was bad enough, but could at least be overlooked by a more casual viewer.

[Shapeshifter]

I'm new here. Please don't hurt me

Anyways youtube has 2 versions of this same ad. One that sounds like KARR and the other one with KITT's voice. (I don't know if this was reported so forgive me if it has) Anyways, i'm not really feeling the car. It really should be a Camaro or something like that. I'm going into this with an open mind and I hope it does well. It would be nice to have Knight Rider (in some form) on the tube again.

spto, Welcome. Just keep your head down, you'll be fine!

There's been a lot of discussion about the choice of car, and most people, grudgingly, have come to realize that the choices open to the producers were really pretty limited, and Ford essentially made them an offer they couldn't refuse. I know that the producers themselves were not happy with the interior when it came back, and plan to make it better in post production. If the pilot is picked up for series, there will ample opportunity to change things for the better. It took the original series a while to get everything right, this show deserves some grace period.

[sarfraz]

Tell me about it. I recall the original didn't have a decent nose on KITT until the pilot was confirmed? You can still see the old nose section on KITT in alot of the pilot....my word did that look standard! Voicebox was also only modified halfway through season 1.

I think my biggest concern with the new KR is whether we will see signature KR stunts like turbo-boost. I know my question will only be answered in a month from now. Otherwise, I'm going in open-minded and eagerly looking forward to it.

Sarfraz

[d_osborn]

As an advertising guy... I LOVE the concept. It was begging to be done.

...I only wish that the full instrument panel mock-up could have been finished for it.

I think my biggest concern with the new KR is whether we will see signature KR stunts like turbo-boost. I know my question will only be answered in a month from now.

There is a script review at aintitcool.com... it answers the turbo boost question, if you're wanting to be spoiled.

[Shapeshifter]

BTW, on the promo front, check out this adage article:

http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=122897

According to this article, KR may change the way NBC does business in the future.

[Victor Kros]

Interesting how they modified their original article, which you can find posted in the threads here - viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10629

Funny how every trace of anti-Larson reference and TWC has been removed from this "new" version titled, How Ford snared starring role in 'Knight Rider' TV movie . I think someone over at Advertising Age Online Magazine received a response and it wasn't what they wanted to hear.

=VK=

[neps]

they are two seperate articles. You can still access the old one if you have a Madison + Vine account. AdAge owns Madison+Vine, they are two seperate magazines, and it looks like they reduced the original article as filler for the article length. This article is about changing the process of Pilots for TV where the previous article was about Ford winning over GM.

Separate articles, but the reused content is odd.

I'm reposting the original portion of the story here incase they remove access as it ages, like they did with the first article.

'Knight Rider' Reborn, Pilots Killed Off
NBC's Ben Silverman Hopes Talking Car Is Fix for Broken TV Model

By Claude Brodesser-Akner

Published: January 07, 2008
LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) -- Kitt, the car star of the 1980s hit series "Knight Rider," is set for a return to our screens next month with the Mustang Shelby GT500KR as the hero. The re-emergence of the talking auto, in an NBC two-hour movie special on Feb. 17, will test not only whether audiences still have an appetite for the Hoff-mobile but how far Ben Silverman has come in his mission to rewrite the TV business model as we've known it.
Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment
Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment
Photo Credit: Mitchell Haaseth


For the networks that model has long involved commissioning dozens of expensive pilots, picking up and screening the best of them during upfront week in a bid to get advertisers to back the untested shows, and then hoping after hope that they catch on with audiences. But this year, with the writers strike as added impetus, Mr. Silverman, the 37-year-old co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, is shifting rapidly away from that old, expensive and increasingly moribund system. While he's still got a couple original scripted shows on his slate, he is relying heavily on reprising former favorites such as "Knight Rider," as well as shows that have been audience-tested overseas, and he's using "specials" as his pilots.

"I've never viewed the pilot season as anything but incredibly flawed," Mr. Silverman said. "When you'd approach advertisers, it was hard to get them to commit because it's done in such a speculative manner. Then the strike happened, and it's going to hasten the change."

Ejecting the pilot
In Hollywood, the odd effort to create a show from a special is known as a "backdoor pilot"; if it succeeds, it gets a more robust commitment from the network. But Mr. Silverman said he isn't interested in merely opening that backdoor -- he wants to rip it from the hinges. He pointed to other forthcoming NBC shows based on pre-existing material ("American Gladiators," Candace Bushnell's "Lipstick Jungle" and "The Office" to name a few) as the blueprint for how he plans to upend the traditionally wasteful Hollywood tradition of producing dozens of costly pilots that never air.

"We're taking a page from the movie business," Mr. Silverman said. In point of fact, Mr. Silverman is taking a page from his old job as a packager of shows while he was an agent at William Morris, where he helped sell "Survivor." That's likely good news for advertisers who don't want to gamble on untested material; it's good news for holders of underlying rights; it could even be good news for NBC bean counters, provided enough of these as-seen-before shows are successful. But it's a less-than-rosy pronouncement for TV writers schlepping spec scripts -- yet again prompting the question of whether the writers strike will end up hurting more than it helps.

"Knight Rider" also showcases Mr. Silverman's experience finding shows that yield strong brand-integration opportunities, another way in which all the major broadcast networks have looked to offset the sizable risk they take in commissioning shows. With the increasing range of brand-integration opportunities and the demise of the pilot season and upfront, Mr. Silverman is envisaging a 365-day-a-year TV ad market and closer cooperation between network and advertisers. "It's essential," he said, "that we initiate dialogue with ad partners early and throughout the process." In that vein, he added that if "Knight Rider" is reordered as a fall series, Ford would again be a prominent sponsor, in much the same way it backs "American Idol."

Fleeing viewers
Meanwhile, NBC is still facing a promotion conundrum: On the one hand, with a dearth of new content available due to the writers strike, "Knight Rider" could do exceptionally well with audiences starved for scripted material. On the other, the general flight from prime time means that promoting "Knight" presents its own special set of difficulties: If the writers strike drags on into the spring, viewership at broadcast networks is expected to decline on average 9% from January through May, according to estimates by agency Magna Global.

Vince Manze, president-program planning, scheduling and strategy for NBC Entertainment, noted that "it probably will take more outside marketing if the [ratings] numbers dip."

The strike has already deflated NBC's original plan to promote "Knight Rider": An "80s Week" of programming stunts would have deployed Reagan-era favorites such as Phylicia Rashad of "The Cosby Show" on "Law and Order" and attired the "Deal or No Deal" models in "Flashdance" garb. But with writers picketing, NBC retreads such as "Bionic Woman" just can't be tweaked.

Still, like Mr. Silverman, NBC's Mr. Manze sees its Ford pact for "Knight Rider" presaging additional, comprehensive deal-making with Madison Avenue that goes beyond traditional product placement toward early-on involvement with advertisers. "This was an effort by everyone -- sales, programming and marketing -- and it represents the future of good, natural integration," Mr. Manze said, adding, "Here, the car really is the star."

If he can come up with an acceptable alternative model to pilot season and the upfront, Mr. Silverman might just be sharing the podium with KITT.

[Victor Kros]

I'll look into the matter further and see what I can find out. The fact they're reusing content makes it feel more of a rewrite/edit rather than an entirely new article. They might have the older one in their subscriber content as an archive of what they've done in general, or they could just be hiding it from public view...who knows at this point.

=VK=

[neps]

This is also in the print edition of AdAge today:

So it looks like the part about KITT and Ford was reduced to fit the print edition of AdAge (separate from the Madison+Vine edition). I'll try and get a better scan at some point today - but its basically the same article.

[davejames]

I will accept that there may be many people who find the product placement cheesey. But are you implying that the original show WASN'T cheesey?! That was half the fun of the show! Yes, it was cheesey and they knew it was cheesey and that was why the show had so much charm.

Thank you. I've loved the show since I was a kid too, but I think people need to get a little perspective here. Yeah the original was a fun little show, but we're not exactly talking about a work of art or a "TV classic" here (especially when most people would probably agree that the car was the only consistently good thing IN the show).

I understand it's a KR forum so people are going to take this stuff a little more seriously than average folks, but some of the moral outrage and righteous indignation I see from some people over this new series just strikes me as INCREDIBLY over the top.

[Solid Snake]

Honestly the car looks fine in the 2nd promo... but the promo itself is not very good. I liked the first better. But as I said the car is nice enough... except for the HORRIBLE MOMO steering wheel, like a thorn in the eye to be honest... Shapeshifter... that's not coming in the final cut now is it? It should read "Knight" instead of Momo... Momo makes it feel tacky.

[Shapeshifter]

Honestly the car looks fine in the 2nd promo... but the promo itself is not very good. I liked the first better. But as I said the car is nice enough... except for the HORRIBLE MOMO steering wheel, like a thorn in the eye to be honest... Shapeshifter... that's not coming in the final cut now is it? It should read "Knight" instead of Momo... Momo makes it feel tacky.

I'm afraid you're really going to have to get used to the idea of product placement. This is a different time--in the 80's how many sports stadiums began with Qualcom or PacBell or Lincoln Financial or Gillette? It's just the way it is now. For some, it even adds to the realism. For others, it's just distracting.

To answer your question, though, I don't know how, or how much, aspects of the interior are going to change. We'll have to wait and see.

[djshag69]

I am sure everyone is "beat me up" for stating my opinion. But as it has been stated before why do people hate change so much? Why does everything need to be done the same way it was in the original series? Don’t get me wrong at first I was like why a mustang, but then when I thought about it more I am thinking you know what it will be completely different and I've learned change is good. we all know nothing will compare to the original kitt, and it never will, I would think people would just be happy a powerhouse like nbc is pushing to get knight rider back on the air for all of us, as opposed to us nitpicking every single thing and complaining about the car before the show is even on the air.

[daroga]

Hey guys,

I'm hesitantly excited about this. If nothing else, it'll be a neat little bit to add to the Knight Rider collection.

Can someone explain the drastic voice differences between these two videos? It's not just dirty in one and cleaned up in the other. It sounds like totally different people. The intonation and accents are different; even the ending "Knight Rider--coming this February" is spoken differently. Any thoughts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DBA8QJnzX0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NhxYtKArCo&NR=1

[d_osborn]

Can someone explain the drastic voice differences between these two videos? It's not just dirty in one and cleaned up in the other. It sounds like totally different people. The intonation and accents are different; even the ending "Knight Rider--coming this February" is spoken differently. Any thoughts?

The youtube commercial is the final from NBC... the higher quality commercial is a rough cut that didn't air.

But as I said the car is nice enough... except for the HORRIBLE MOMO steering wheel, like a thorn in the eye to be honest... Shapeshifter... that's not coming in the final cut now is it? It should read "Knight" instead of Momo... Momo makes it feel tacky.

The MOMO logo is MUCH better than the "K.I.T.T." label that was on the steering wheel in the design concepts.

[PHOENIXZERO]

If you read this thread before posting you would have gotten your answer.

I am sure everyone is "beat me up" for stating my opinion. But as it has been stated before why do people hate change so much? Why does everything need to be done the same way it was in the original series? Don’t get me wrong at first I was like why a mustang, but then when I thought about it more I am thinking you know what it will be completely different and I've learned change is good. we all know nothing will compare to the original kitt, and it never will, I would think people would just be happy a powerhouse like nbc is pushing to get knight rider back on the air for all of us, as opposed to us nitpicking every single thing and complaining about the car before the show is even on the air.

There's always going to be comparisons and the complaints about the Mustang being used have eased a lot since it was revealed. Though it's been a lot easier to accept due to this being a continuation of the original series and not a remake. The only issues IMO are going to be where the new car's specs don't even match the old car, if anything the new car should have KITT beat in all fronts. Hopefully the actual TV movie won't be a two hour Ford commercial but the teaser and the promo aren't exactly dispelling that notion. I don't mind product placement as long as it's not made obvious and beating us over the head with it.

[Nelson B]

I think you better find yourself a crash helmet. Your probably going to need it.

[krfan1]

The youtube commercial is the final from NBC... the higher quality commercial is a rough cut that didn't air.

Have someone obtained a recorded copy of the commercial that aired on NBC (as opposed to the links on the Net)? I ask because the YouTube link seems like someone put a filter over the whole audio track before uploading it to YouTube. Even the announcer's voice has some sort of filter on it (which you wouldn't expect him to have). When KITT is listing all the features when speaking rapidly, the YouTube link becomes distorted (which does not seem very professional). I don't think the distortion is from putting it on YouTube either...it just doesn't sound right.


That's my take on it....time to go start cleaning off my hard drive for Feb. 17!
--krfan1

[PHOENIXZERO]

I think you better find yourself a crash helmet. Your probably going to need it.

And aspirin, maybe Bayer should get in on this. <_<

[PaoloM]

I'm afraid you're really going to have to get used to the idea of product placement. This is a different time--in the 80's how many sports stadiums began with Qualcom or PacBell or Lincoln Financial or Gillette? It's just the way it is now. For some, it even adds to the realism. For others, it's just distracting.

I understand your point and I can accept this as long as the product placement thing doesn't cast a shadow over the whole show. It's an understandable matter of fact that fans and producers have different points of view, the pure "Knight" passion of fans versus the commercial business of producers. We'll see if a right balance can be found. The customization of the dashboard (voicebox and futuristic look) will be highly indicative of the will to remain faithfull to the Knight Rider spirit.