Sonic Rolls Out Its Latest Ad With Ellie Kemper and Jane Krakowski

The drive-up fast-food joint tapped the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt actors to star in six spots, which debuted in March and are being released over six months.

In the latest of those, Kemper and Krakowski munch on Sonic’s chicken tenders, which Krakowski calls “flispy”—flavorful and crispy—saying she’s an expert on combining two words to create one and that she invented the term “labradoodle.” Kemper replies, “You had a Labrador who could draw?”

Kemper and Krakowski’s banter, with the former’s adorable naiveté and the latter’s exaggerations and boasting, is right out of their Netflix show, in which Kemper’s Kimmy Schmidt, a survivor a doomsday cult, works as a nanny for Krakowski’s character, socialite Jacqueline Voorhees. The show is ending after four seasons on the streaming service with a series finale movie.

Biscuit Filmworks’ Clay Weiner directed all six of the Sonic spots, which are meant to be reminiscent of the brand’s classic ads featuring the “Two Guys,” comedians Peter Grosz and T.J. Jagodowski, who have served as spokespeople for Sonic for over a decade. Though this time, the pair sitting in the car is different, there are similarities to the “Two Guys” ads—Kemper and Krakowski, like Grosz and Jagodowski, improvised lines throughout the campaign, for instance.

“Improv was encouraged,” Kemper told Adweek in March. “They kept it really loose, which was nice because it’s the spirit of those commercials and that campaign.”

Kemper and Krakowski are a fitting addition to Sonic’s line of spokespeople. Jagodowski and Kemper previously worked together during their improv days in Chicago. Kemper and Krakowski’s campaign is a sign of things to come for the brand, too. Sonic is on the lookout for more comedic duos to feature in future ads.

“We want to keep consumers guessing about who’s in the car next,” Sonic’s CMO Abou Habib said.