The newest KFC commercials feature RoboCop dressed up as Colonel Sanders. The first RoboCop starred Peter Weller as Alex J. Murphy, a police officer from Detroit who returns to the force as a cyborg after a brutal shootout. Ever since RoboCop’s premiere in 1987, the character has remained a recognizable figure in pop culture that won’t seem to go away.
After the success of the first film, it wasn’t a big surprise that Orion Pictures went ahead and crafted another sequel three years later. RoboCop 2 wasn’t as highly regarded as Paul Verhoeven’s original film, but the character nonetheless continued to return to the big screen and the small screen for years. RoboCop 3 was released in 1993 replacing Weller with Robert John Burke as RoboCop, and RoboCop: The Series would air a year later. Just when fans thought the cyborg cop was finally dead, the character returned for a remake in 2014, which received mixed reviews at best. Now it appears that the character is jumping back to the small screen, only this time to advertise fried chicken.
KFC has had some interesting marketing campaigns over the years, but their newest commercials show RoboCop disguised as none other than the Colonel himself. The first video below explains how KFC would be ruined if their secret recipe was ever revealed, so they employed RoboCop to ensure that never happens. KFC has also released a series of commercials that feature a RoboCop version of Sanders promoting their $5 Fill Ups as well as their $20 Fill Ups. The final commercial shows a man asking RoboCop for the secret recipe, before he responds, “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” All of the mentioned commercials can be seen in full below.
While KFC seems to be having fun promoting their chicken, RoboCop will soon be returning to theaters. In early 2018, it was revealed that co-writer Ed Neumeier was working on a continuation of the original 1987 RoboCop. Very little is known about the sequel, which is currently being referred to as RoboCop Returns, but Neill Blomkamp is set to direct. Also, Weller likely won’t be returning to reprise his role as RoboCop for the film. Unlike the 2014 remake, Blomkamp’s RoboCop Returns will be rated R.
Fans were surely surprised to see RoboCop advertising fried chicken for KFC this morning, but this definitely isn’t the first time a fast-food chain has used the power of cinema to bring attention to their restaurants. Places like McDonald’s and Burger King have been including toys based on popular movies in their kids meals for years, but usually, these films are family friendly. KFC being mashed up with a popular ’80s film like RoboCop may seem like a silly marketing ploy, but it will surely bring attention to their business.
More: 18 Things You Never Knew About RoboCop
Source: KFC
