Hi. I'm Lying Out My Ass Rob Lowe....

[gblowfish]

DirecTV getting bitch slapped by Comcast for "deceptive advertising."

Story:

Hi, I'm Rob Lowe, and I have cable."

"And I'm deceptive advertising Rob Lowe, and I have DirecTV."

Following a Comcast complaint, the Better Business Bureau this week recommended that DirecTV 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 ads feature Lowe playing various awkward versions of himself, including a Rob Lowe with scrawny arms, "painfully awkward" Rob Lowe, "super creepy" Rob Lowe, "far less attractive" Rob Lowe and "meathead" Rob Lowe.

At the end of the commercials, the normal, DirecTV version of Lowe says, "Don't be like this me. Get rid of cable and upgrade to DirecTV."

In most cases, the Better Business Bureau National Advertising Division review board agreed with Comcast and urged DirecTV to pull or modify the ads.

For instance, the NAD found no supporting evidence to substantiate the "far less attractive" Rob Lowe commercial's claim that DirecTV has better picture and sound quality than cable. "Scrawny arms" Rob Lowe claimed DirecTV has more sports programming, but the NAD said that was also unsupported.

The review board also said DirecTV failed to explain how it arrived at its customer service claims. The NAD even took issue with the commercials' statement "don't be like this me," because it "conveyed a comparative and unsupported superiority message."

It did, however, find that DirecTV's message of 99% signal reliability and "up to 1080p" picture were solid.

DirecTV is appealing the claim that the ads are deceptive.

In a statement, the company said it "continues to believe that the various Rob Lowe advertisements are so outlandish and exaggerated that no reasonable consumer would believe that the statements being made by the alter-ego characters are comparative or need to be substantiated."

According to a report in Variety, DirecTV has stopped airing the Lowe ads because the company had moved on to another ad campaign.

This isn't the first time DirecTV has been charged with false or misleading advertising.

The Federal Trade Commission ruled in March that the satellite company failed to make it clear that its $19.95-a-month plan requires two-year contract is required, and that customers must proactively cancel the free premium channels like HBO and Showtime that they get during the first three months of the package.

Link to story:
http://www.kmbc.com/money/directv-to...inkId=13415653

[Stewie]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I've tired of the hassle of going through all that to get a decent deal and will be cancelling and "cutting the cord" in a week or so when my contract is up. I'm definitely looking forward to $15/month for Hulu and Netflix rather than $120 for DTV like I am now (though I'm sure I'll add more stuff like SlingTV shortly after).

I actually cancelled my DTV subscription about six weeks ago. I was planning on doing the OTA and Netflix thing (among other options).

DTV sent an email about two weeks after my cancellation with an awesome deal. So now, I get my previous package (Choice Plus, I think) with Sunday Ticket and movie channels for three months (not a biggie for me). My bill is now $57.09/month including taxes and fees. It's only a 12 month agreement and I just received my $200 DTV debit card. Not bad.

If you make good on your threat to leave they'll capitulate. My previous bill for the same service w/o Sunday ticket was about $90.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by gblowfish

The NAD even took issue with the commercials' statement "don't be like this me," because it "conveyed a comparative and unsupported superiority message."

That's bullshit. Puffery is protected commercial speech. You're not required to hawk your products by saying 'hey our competitors are great too, but we'd really like it if you picked us anyway.'

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

True. But during the winter, we've often had very severe rain and thunderstorms which resulted in flash floods and I've never lost signal. In 2005, we had something like 46 inches of rain in January and February. I had a river for a street, literally, and the signal was never lost.

I would imagine that the biggest deterrent in the KC area would be the wind and tornadoes. I'd be shocked if rain and snow would kill the signal in 2015.

Major 30mph winds + rain is the only time I lose service and it only knocks the High Def channels out. You can switch over to Standard and the picture will still be there.

[digger]

They should all fear Google fiber and Google TV.

[jspchief]

Originally Posted by wazu

Unless a cloud goes over your house.

20 years ago called. They want your complaint to come home.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Stewie

I actually cancelled my DTV subscription about six weeks ago. I was planning on doing the OTA and Netflix thing (among other options).

DTV sent an email about two weeks after my cancellation with an awesome deal. So now, I get my previous package (Choice Plus, I think) with Sunday Ticket and movie channels for three months (not a biggie for me). My bill is now $57.09/month including taxes and fees. It's only a 12 month agreement and I just received my $200 DTV debit card. Not bad.

If you make good on your threat to leave they'll capitulate. My previous bill for the same service w/o Sunday ticket was about $90.

Yeah, I'm sure I could talk them down. At this point though, I'm just ready to kick the whole "Live TV" idea to the curb. I'm sure there will be some growing pains, but I know plenty of people who aren't paying for cable these days and are perfectly happy, so we'll see how it goes.

[milkman]

"hilarious ad campaign"?

Can we sue whoever wrote this story for a false statement?

[BigMeatballDave]

I've always thought Directv had a better picture quality. I haven't had them since 2012.

Time Warner now. Their DVRs were steaming piles. Much better now.

[Gonzo]

I've got sat TV at my cabin in the Sandhills and it's ****ing shit. No cable options out there and DTV knows it so they supply a sub par product. Good luck getting a decent internet signal as well. My phone, (operating on old 3G) emits a stronger hotspot wifi signal than anything.

[Hamwallet]

Originally Posted by stonedstooge

Too bad. It was the best acting Rob Lowe has ever performed

He was awesome in Wayne's World man. Don't go being dramatic and what not.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by milkman

"hilarious ad campaign"?

Can we sue whoever wrote this story for a false statement?

Only if it's Rolling Stone.

[GloryDayz]

In the 13 years I've had Time Warner I will say they up time is six-sigma, but that's all I'll give them. They are pricy and they are more than willing to f-over their customers for the thinnest penny.

I hope Google Fiber gives me everything I want in terms of BW and reliability for the Interwebs and TV part of the deal. But it will blow having to go third-party for home phone services.

I had satellite in the late 90s, it was terrible, and I've never considered it again. But the 17 year gap might be something that I should get over if Google ends up not being the cat's ass..

[TinyEvel]

I'm moving to KCK in a couple of months. Not sure what the house currently has, but we have Comcast up here in SF and I loathe it. Hate it to my core.
Had DIRECTV in LA and it was pretty good. I'm thinking of getting it out there.
Thoughts? (I don't need sundAy ticket)

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by TinyEvel

I'm moving to KCK in a couple of months. Not sure what the house currently has, but we have Comcast up here in SF and I loathe it. Hate it to my core.
Had DIRECTV in LA and it was pretty good. I'm thinking of getting it out there.
Thoughts? (I don't need sundAy ticket)

I can't imagine any reason to have Directv outside of Sunday Ticket.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Baconeater

I can't imagine any reason to have Directv outside of Sunday Ticket.

Everything on every channel is available On Demand. For someone like me that doesn't get to the TV until around 10:30pm each night, it's awesome to be able to stream any movie or program on the premium channels and watch whenever I want, regardless of what's actually on.