DirecTV Told to Yank Ads Featuring Rob Lowe After Comcast Complaints

Don’t be like DirecTV, the Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Division (NAD) says. The watchdog group has recommended that DirecTV discontinue its popular Rob Lowe ads, which feature the actor taking on what the commercial group called “one of several odd or awkward alter-ego characters.” The ads that always end with Lowe’s spoken tagline, “Don’t be like this me -- Get rid of cable and upgrade to DirecTV,” may not be long for your small screen, thanks to a complaint filed by cable provider Comcast.

The NAD found that several of the ad campaign’s claims could not be substantiated, or were even flat-out unfair. “While humor can be an effective and creative way for advertisers to highlight the differences between their products and their competitor’s, humor and hyperbole do not relieve an advertiser of the obligation to support messages that their advertisements might reasonably convey -- especially if the advertising disparages a competitor’s product,” the NAD said. The NAD didn’t like the signal reliability claims versus cable that are made in the “Creepy Rob Lowe” commercial, the shorter comparative customer service wait time suggested in the “Painfully Awkward Rob Lowe” spot, and the better picture and sound quality implications drawn in the “Far Less Attractive Rob Lowe” ad. The group concluded: “Given the absence in the record of supporting evidence, NAD recommended the advertiser discontinue the claims.”