Ad of the Day: KFC Unveils Chicken-Scented Sunscreen, With Help From George Hamilton

The Rio Olympics may be over, and we're quickly heading toward Labor Day. But there's still time left to enjoy the summer rays. And who can better advise us on how to soak up the sun than the famously brown George Hamilton? 

In its latest campaign, KFC picked Mr. Permatan as the latest celebrity to portray Colonel Sanders. And the brand also created its very first sunscreen in an effort to help you resemble the late Colonel's famous Original Recipe—giving you extra crispy skin and the sort of aroma that can only come from that secret mix of 11 herbs and spices. 

After all, even Eric Cartman would agree that the most important part of a fried chicken dinner is the skin, which may well be the world's most effective oil repository. 

Edelman Dallas came up with the concept behind KFC Extra Crispy Sunscreen, which is every bit as real as the "pricey" line of suncare products that Hamilton promoted in the halcyon days of the late '80s with the line "My credibility in tanning is unblemished." 

KFC's lead creative agency, Wieden + Kennedy Portland, created the packaging, the Extra Crispy Suncreen microsite and the very thorough infomercial above. 

Hamilton replaced Jim Gaffigan as the Colonel in June, and used his first appearance to pitch a brand of crispy chicken so compelling that it "isn't just a product, it's a lifestyle."

The sunscreen, which is available through good old snail mail for a limited time, promises to prevent you from turning the shade Hamilton himself described as "lobster red" by ensuring that "harmful ultraviolet rays bounce off your skin while the lovely fragrance rays penetrate it to give you a healthy chicken aroma." 

Just don't eat it, OK? 

For the record, Hamilton once told Oprah that his first tan led to his first time being "hit on by a girl," so one can perhaps understand his fondness for his signature dried-leather look. 

CREDITS

Client: KFC

Agencies: Edelman Dallas and Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.

Creative Directors: Eric Baldwin, Jason Kreher

Copywriter: Shaine Edwards

Art Director: Matthew Carroll

Producers: Tiffany Golden, Ben Grylewicz

Business Affairs: Connery Obeng

Account Team: Jesse Johnson, Andrie Wheeler, Kate Rutkowski, Madeline Parker

Social Strategy: John Dempsey

Director: Matthew Carroll

Editorial Company: Joint

Editor: Eric Hill

Post Producer: Chris Gerard

Mixer, Sound Engineer, Sound Designer: Noah Woodburn