Rob Lowe plays Colonel Sanders in KFC ad campaign

April 22 (UPI) — Hollywood actor Rob Lowe is the latest celebrity to play Colonel Harland Sanders in a Kentucky Fried Chicken ad campaign.

His first commercial debuted Friday.

“My grandfather was the head of the Ohio chapter of the National Restaurant Association in the 1960s and took me to meet Colonel Harland Sanders when I was a kid. It was a big deal. I thought this would be a nice homage to both Colonel Sanders and to my grandfather,” Lowe said in a statement. “Plus, we’re sending the Zinger chicken sandwich to space. You kind of can’t beat that.”

“I have no idea how we’ll launch a chicken sandwich into space, but the marketing team thinks they can do it,” added Kevin Hochman, KFC’s U.S. president and chief concept officer. “What I do know, is the Zinger is the bestselling KFC chicken sandwich in 120 countries and it’s now available in America.”