KFC has been known to get pretty wild when it comes to commercials, and a long list of funny folks have worn the white wig and string bowtie to promote the restaurant chain. The latest to play Colonel Sanders is none other than Rob Lowe, and KFC just released the first ad with Lowe as leading man. Prepare yourself for something truly bizarre and check it out!
Well, kudos to KFC for producing an ad that's guaranteed to get people talking, even if only to try and figure out WTF just happened and why Astronaut Rob Lowe is talking about sending a chicken sandwich into space. Apparently, the folks at KFC decided that the new spicy crispy chicken sandwich dubbed the "Zinger" is worthy of its own ad campaign, and what better way to kick off an ad campaign that with a large and small screen star in a wig and fake mustache?
The commercial is apparently set back in the days of the space race, and it poses the immortal question: can you launch a chicken sandwich (with attached camera) into space? Rob Lowe certainly seems to hope so, and his rousing speech was inspiring enough that I almost believe him. If a man is bold enough to wear a space suit with a string bowtie and suit lapels stamped onto it, then he's bold enough to send a hand-breaded chicken sandwich into space.
In all seriousness, KFC deserves credit for consistently finding new (and admittedly pretty weird) ways to promote its new offerings. Whether it's by bringing in Rob Lowe to play an astronaut Colonel Sanders or cycling through SNL vets, the restaurant chain tends to be creative. Besides, the astronaut Zinger commercial isn't nearly the most oddball way KFC has advertised. I have to give the edge in that particular race to the KFC scented candles that were available not so long ago, if only because I'm pretending that the fried chicken-scented sunscreen and the edible nail polish never happened, because... ew.
Rob Lowe is no stranger to putting on prosthetics and wigs to promote in commercials. He regularly dressed up as different versions of himself for DirecTV ads that were often as unsettling as they were entertaining. That ad campaign has come to an end, but I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who still remember. Maybe the Zinger ad will somehow eclipse the best and worst of the DirecTV ads.
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