A Kia ad campaign has topped the list of television commercials (TVCs) that received the most complaints in 2025, and it wasn’t one featuring reckless driving – or one bursting at the seams with sporting celebrities.
Instead, the TVC in question was for Kia’s EV5 and EV9 electric SUVs, which were touted as being “zombie-proof”.
Ad Standards, Australia’s advertising regulator, received 86 complaints – more, even, than a Dettol commercial featuring a child picking his nose. Of the top 10 list, it was one of only two which the regulator found to be in breach of advertising standards.
Not that it was found in breach because of the “scary” zombies, but rather because a depiction of its remote parking assist feature was found to have been demonstrated in a way “likely to contravene road rules”.
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“The Panel noted that automated vehicle technologies, where a vehicle performs driving tasks without a human driver, are not currently permitted for general use in Australia,” said the Ad Standards Community Panel.
“Therefore, the Panel concluded that using the smart parking assist feature without a driver in control of the vehicle would likely breach Australian road rules.
“The Panel acknowledged that the advertisement was set in a post-apocalyptic future and was not intended to display realistic driving practices. However, the Panel considered that the advertisement is promoting a feature in a vehicle that would be against current road rules in most circumstances.
“The Panel concluded that the advertisement depicted driving practices which would if they were to take place on a road or road-related area, breach Commonwealth law or the law of any State or Territory in the relevant jurisdiction in which the advertisement is published or broadcast directly dealing with road safety or traffic regulation.”
Kia defended the depiction of its feature, though it conceded the use of the feature in Western Australia by a driver who isn’t behind the steering wheel is currently not permitted, and noted it had included a disclaimer to this effect.
“In the Advertisement the Kia EV9’s RSPA feature is advertised for its intended purpose in the fantastical carpark world where zombies are seen as obstructive and annoyances,” the company said in its response to complaints.
“This scene is a depiction of RSPA’s real world intended purpose, where an EV9 owner would find it hard to get into the vehicle due to obstacles in close proximity.”
While Kia defended the ad campaign, noting the light tone and the humorous way the non-violent zombies were presented, it nevertheless copped dozens of complaints to Ad Standards for being scary.
Multiple complaints centred around the ads frightening children, with one claiming it showed paramedics as not being valued or respected, another claiming it “puts down sick and handicap [sic] children”, another arguing it was “mocking the Los Angeles fires”, and one saying they believed the advertisement “portrays the people of Melbournes as ‘Zombies’”.
The Ad Standards Community Panel, a “diverse group of Australians representing a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives”, assessed more than 230 ads in 2025.
“The Community Panel is at the heart of how Ad Standards upholds community standards. Their independent assessments provide a clear, unbiased view of community values and how those should be reflected in advertising,” said the regulator in a release.
Overall, Ad Standards received close to 5000 complaints this year.
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