I love the Rob Lowe ads. I think they are satirical, funny without being truly mean. They capture the spirit of the Mac vs PC ads of a generation ago.
Following a Comcast (CMCSA) complaint, the Better Business Bureau this week recommended that DirecTV (DTV) discontinue its hilarious ad campaign featuring actor Rob Lowe, because the satellite TV company couldn’t substantiate many of the claims made in the commercials.
DirecTV clams in the spots that its service gets 99% signal reliability, up to 1080p HD programming, better picture and sound quality than cable, more sports programming than its rivals and shorter customer service wait times than its cable competitors. It also said it was rated No. 1 in customer satisfaction.
The Better Business Bureau has no real teeth here. But they do have pull. So their opinion does matter. Ultimately, it’d be up to the FTC to force DirecTV’s hand.
As to Rob Lowe, he tweeted this:
Recent events have underlined my belief that for something to be truly original, funny and subversive, there must also be fallout. #Life
the BBB being involved is the joke in this whole thing. If Direct TV is guilty of making unsubstantiated claims then Comcast is in the right to cry foul. But they should have gone to the dog with teeth not the little yippy thing that can only bark.
Comcast complained? That’s rich. Worst customer service on the planet. DirecTV is pretty awesome by comparison from my experience (I use Comcast for internet and land-line phone service and DirecTV for, duh, TV.) The claims they make on these commercials rings true to me.
The commercials are pretty good. And it should actually be possible to substantiate how much more consumer hate there is for Comcast.
Rob Lowe has done a bunch of great work, but he is a right-wing crazy who has absolutely zero respect for the truth. The fact that he is not concerned whether or not what he is selling is true or false is not surprising at all.