"You know I've been on some amazing movie sets," drawls David Hasselhoff to the camera, "but my favourite set of all? Planet Earth." Nailed it Hoff, makes ya think. Not content with his bit-part in the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Baywatch and Knight Rider star now has his sights set on climate change and, specifically, getting us gamers off our behinds to do something about it.
Hasselhoff is the face of a new campaign called Make Green Tuesday Moves (MGTM), a "videogames climate change alliance", which aims to offer unique DLC on the first Tuesday of every month using various celebrity endorsements. "MGTM will see proceeds from the sale of in-game items—which can comprise new and/or upcycled DLC goods such as characters, costumes and objects—invested into fully certified sustainability projects by not-for-profit digital platform PlanetPlay."
So: buy the DLC, donate to a good cause. The games involved are casual titles on the Google Play store called things like Bowling Club, Hunt Royale, Peridot and Tile Dynasty, which don't mean much to me but in terms of a global audience probably makes more sense than a crossover with Deep Rock Galactic: the games involved together boast over 36 million daily players. The full list of games and partners can be seen here.
The causes supported by the campaign include "the Hongera Project, which helps families in Kenya improve their living conditions by manufacturing and distributing clean cookstoves, and the WAI Wanaka water conservation project in New Zealand."
"As someone who has spent years entertaining audiences around the world, I know the power of influence," says David Hasselhoff. "Climate change isn't just a distant threat; it's here and now. By joining the Make Green Tuesday Moves initiative, we can turn our everyday gaming into a force for good. Let's make every play for our planet. Together, we can create a legacy of sustainability for future generations. Stay cool, stay green, and make a difference!"
This press release has also introduced me to the concept of "passive activism", surely an oxymoron, whereby you support a cause by basically not changing your behaviour but buying something.
This is a big campaign, with support from Google putting it front-and-center of the Play Store, and Google's Tamzin Taylor calls MGTM "a fantastic example of how the games industry can leverage its massive reach to make a positive impact." Rhea Loucas, CEO at PlanetPlay, says she hopes Hasselhoff's star power will "inspire millions of players to join our mission to help keep global warming below the 1.5 degree threshold."
You have to admire the gusto with which Hasselhoff throws himself into this stuff, even if he still thinks everyone's using joysticks. "Hey gamers, it's David Hasselhoff," says David Hasselhoff. "Your play time turns into green time, zapping pollution and healing the Earth one epic item at a time. So grab your joystick and hit play!"
If that's not enough… Hasselhoff also did a video in his old Knight Rider gear, and yes he's right next to KITT, and yes it ends with KITT agreeing you should all fight global warming. If that doesn't convince us to save the world, nothing will.
