Rob Lowe Shares Photos As KFC's Colonel Sanders

(CBS SF) - Portraying a 90-year-old Southern spokesman for Kentucky Fried Chicken may be a stretch for actor Rob Lowe. But somehow, he manages to pull it off. Complete with wavy white hair and a goatee.

Last week, @KFC tweeted a series of teaser photos of Lowe as Colonel Sanders dressed in an astronaut's space suit. The campaign featuring the former 'Austin Powers' actor is to launch KFC's latest Zinger Chicken Sandwich. See below:

KFC tweeted "Introducing Mission Commander Colonel Sanders. He's got the face of an angel and the chicken-sandwich salesmanship of a Colonel Sanders."

A minute and a half video was tweeted featuring Lowe as Sanders where he is seen on a podium announcing the plans to launch the Zinger Chicken Sandwich into outer space. Watch the video here:

Previous iterations of "The Colonel" included comedians Norm MacDonald, Darrell Hammond and Jim Gaffigan. However, not everyone is amused by Lowe's comedic performance as Sanders. PETA condemned the actor by saying he "sold his soul."

In a statement, Senior Vice President for PETA Dan Mathews said, "Rob Lowe just sold his soul to hawk the rotting carcasses of small, tortured birds. He's lost all his animal-friendly fans, who are disgusted by KFC suppliers that pollute rivers and bays with tons of chicken waste, break birds' wings and legs, and even scald them to death in defeathering tanks. Lowe should donate his fee to a chicken sanctuary, ask the public's forgiveness, and then bail on this lame deal."

As of yet, no comment from Lowe.

KFC's Zinger Chicken Sandwich is available now and will launch into space sometime this June.

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