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Rudd impersonator fronts eyewear retailer’s TV campaign attacking foreign aid

Retail eyewear company The Optical Superstore has made a foray into the federal election using Kevin Rudd impersonator Anthony Ackroyd to front a new TV campaign, which attempts to combine a denouncement of  aid to Indonesia with a brand message.

In the video Ackroyd, labelled the video “The Ruddster”, questions whether Australia should be giving $647m in foreign aid, citing the $8bn the country spends on its military.

At the end of the video the Rudd impersonator turns to the camera and says: “I can see this issue so clearly now because I bought my glasses from The Optical Super Store”.

The commercial is a parody of a recent commercial by Kevin Rudd which aimed to lay out the “facts on debt”.

Many companies traditionally avoid being associated with controversial election topics for fear it may damage the brand.

Celebrity agent Max Markson, who also manages Ackroyd, is doing publicity around the launch of the ad which goes out tomorrow. The TV ad was created by Zest Media in Adelaide with the script a collaboration between the agency, Ackroyd and Optical Superstore CEO Ian Melrose.  The commercial will be run on SBS television.

Nic Christensen

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