“Hi, I’m Rob Lowe”
“And I’m super awkward Rob Lowe”
DirecTV has rolled out a new ad campaign with actor Rob Lowe
playing himself and also lesser versions of himself. So far the campaign has
released three ads, all on TV. The first advertisement introduced actor Rob
Lowe followed by Less Attractive Rob Lowe. The first ad quickly gained
popularity and DirecTV soon after released another commercial with Super Creepy
Rob Lowe. The massive popularity of the first two ads prompted a third release
of Painfully Awkward Rob Lowe. According to Adweek, DirecTV has two more Rob
Lowe commercials in the works that should be expected soon.
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| Painfully Awkward Rob Lowe |
Throughout the ad campaign
DirecTV’s focus is to persuade people that they provide a better service than
cable. In the commercial Rob Lowe is trying to show people that if you have
DirecTV you can be like him, without it you are a lesser version of yourself.
The three things DirecTV is saying they are better with is customer service,
never losing your picture, and that they have industry leading sound and
picture. The ads have recently started up on television and have been running
for little over a month now. The three ads are all 30 seconds long and are
played on most channels. I have personally seen them all over, and it seems
like DirecTV is really pushing this campaign.
In this ad campaign DirecTV is
using a famous person to show people you can be like them too. Rob Lowe is a
well-known actor mainly for his roles in the hit TV shows “West Wing” and
“Parks and Rec”. DirecTV is really pushing these commercials recently, as they
seem to be gaining popularity. In the last month it seems like they have been
everywhere. During TV shows, sporting events, the nightly news. At the very end
of the commercials DirecTV is pushing a reduced price of their service for
$19.99. It seems that the commercial itself is distraction people from the
discount they are offering. No one is talking about the fact they are lowering
their price, but which alter ego Rob Lowe they like best.
In some ways DirecTV is using the
Association Principle. It isn’t blatantly in your face, but rather the message
of the commercials is that if I buy DirecTV I can be like Rob Lowe. I can be a
rich, good-looking, actor, who has premium television. I think the campaign is
getting people to talk about DirecTV’s commercials, but I think they are
missing the point. DirecTV is trying to offer a discounted price with these
commercials, but the famous figure in the commercials is distracting people
from that. In some ways the ad campaign is working, but in other ways it may
also be failing.
Currently with advertising we are
seeing a shift towards companies attacking their competition. We see this in
these commercials. DirecTV is saying our product is much better and they are
throwing cable under the bus. On the other side you never Comcast commercials
attacking DirecTV. Another very
prominent example of this is companies attacking Apple. This is not a new idea.
Samsung and Microsoft know they are less popular products, much like DirecTV,
so they feel they must attack the competition in their ad campaigns.
Personally, I don’t think this type of advertising is that effective. Rather
than showing the benefits of your product you are comparing it to the
competition. To me this shows you’ve already lost the battle. It shows that you
know your product and company aren’t as popular or at the same standard as the
competition. Yes, your ads may be funny and our drawing attention, but you are
diminishing your company by advertising this way.
The target market for the Rob Lowe
DirecTV ads would be anyone with cable, or people that don’t currently have
television. I think this campaign is directed toward trying to get people to
switch over from cable to DirecTV. The ad does stereotype a little by inferring
better looking people use DirecTV. The ads aren’t trying to convey DirecTV will
make you look better or less creepy, but some people could take them that way.
I think ad campaigns often toe the line with that.
I think the ad campaign is working
in some ways; it has people talking about the DirecTV ads. Any time you use a
popular figure like Rob Lowe in your ads people will talk about it. However, as
I mentioned earlier, I think it is distracting people from the purpose of the
campaign. DirecTV is trying to advertise a discounted price for their service,
however people are more focused on what version of Rob Lowe is on their TV.
That being said the ads are memorable, personally I think they are hilarious. I
love Parks and Rec, one of Rob Lowe’s shows, so seeing him in these commercials
sparks something else in me. On social media lots of people are talking about
the ads, quoting them, debating which alter ego is better, but no one is
talking about DirecTV. I don’t know if its actually getting people to sign up
for DirecTV, but its getting people talking about their commercials.
DirecTV already has a huge customer
base but in order to stay relevant all companies must advertise. Every now and
then I see a DirecTV ad on twitter in my stream. I usually just skip right over
it, but recently I did notice they posted a picture of Rob Lowe from the commercials.
I don’t think DirecTV offers a service I need (other than Sunday Ticket…). Being
a college student it is easy to sign up for Comcast and get both TV and Internet.
I have never had DirecTV, my family always had cable, but I have heard many bad
reviews of DirecTV and their services.
The Rob Lowe ad campaign by DirecTV
is humorous campaign and has people talking about it. Looking at commercials
and ad campaigns this way has changed my opinion. There is lots of clutter and
it is rare that something jumps out and grabs my attention. These commercials
did, mainly with the humor and the famous actor.
