A Light up The ad campaign tops the list of television commercials (TVCs) that received the most complaints in 2025, and it wasn’t about reckless driving – nor were it about bursting-at-the-seams sports spots.
Instead, the TVC in question was Kia’s EV5 And EV9 Electric SUVs that were touted as “zombie-proof.”
Ad Standards, Australia’s advertising regulator, received 86 complaints – even more than a Dettol commercial showing a child picking his nose. Of the top 10 list, it was one of only two that the regulator found breached advertising standards.
Not that a violation was found because of the “scary” zombies, but rather because a display of the remote parking assistance feature was found to be demonstrated in a way that was “likely to violate the Highway Code.”
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“The panel noted that automated vehicle technologies, where a vehicle performs driving tasks without a human driver, are not currently approved for general use in Australia,” the Ad Standards Community Panel said.
“Therefore, the panel concluded that the use of the intelligent parking assistance feature without a driver in control of the vehicle would likely contravene the Australian Road Rules.
“The panel acknowledged that the advertisement was set in a post-apocalyptic future and was not intended to depict realistic driving practices. However, the panel considered that the advertisement promoted a feature in a vehicle that would, in most cases, contravene current road rules.”
“The panel concluded that the advertisement depicted driving practices which, if they took place on a road or roadside area, would contravene Commonwealth law or the law of a state or territory in the relevant jurisdiction in which the advertisement is published or broadcast and is directly concerned with road safety or traffic regulation.”
Kia defended its portrayal of its feature, but acknowledged that use of the feature by a driver not behind the wheel is not currently permitted in Western Australia, and noted that it had included a relevant disclaimer.
“The advertising promotes the Kia EV9’s RSPA feature for its intended purpose in the fantastical parking lot world where zombies are viewed as disruptive and annoying,” the company said in its response to complaints.
“This scene is a representation of the real-world use of RSPA, where an EV9 owner would find it difficult to enter the vehicle due to obstacles in the immediate vicinity.”
While Kia defended the ad campaign, pointing out the lighthearted tone and humorous way it presented the nonviolent zombies, it still fended off dozens of complaints to Ad Standards about it being creepy.
Several complaints focused on the advertising scaring children. One claimed it showed paramedics weren’t valued or respected, another claimed it was “putting sick and disabled children to sleep”, another argued it was “mocking the fires in Los Angeles”, and another said it believed the advert “portrayed the people of Melbourne as ‘zombies'”.
The Ad Standards Community Panel, a “diverse group of Australians with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives,” assessed more than 230 ads in 2025.
“The Community Panel is at the heart of how Ad Standards maintains community standards. Their independent assessments provide a clear, unbiased overview of community values and how these should be reflected in advertising,” the regulator said in a press release.
In total, Ad Standards received almost 5,000 complaints this year.
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