DirecTV may drop Rob Lowe ads

LOS ANGELES, April 8 (UPI) -- DirecTV may be permanently dropping its ads starring Rob Lowe after a series of complaints that they made unsubstantiated statements.

The ads have caused Comcast and other entities to accuse the company of making unsupported claims about having higher picture quality, a more reliable signal and shorter customer service visits.

The Better Business Bureau agreed and said the commercials were misleading and urged DirecTV to discontinue them.

"Although humor can be an effective and creative way for advertisers to highlight the differences between their products and their competitors, humor and hyperbole do not relieve an advertiser of the obligation to support messages that their advertisements might reasonably convey," the BBB's National Advertising Division said in a statement.

It's a hard sell to DirecTV, which is not legally bound to stop the ads and plans to appeal the decision.

"They were losing subscribers before this campaign came on. They gained subscribers in the two quarters where they ran the ads," wrote Los Angeles Times media writer Stephen Battaglio.

DirecTV responded with a statement saying the commercials did not fall into the realm of belief for customers.

DirecTV said, "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."

DirecTV said it planned to discontinue the ads in April anyway but reserves the right to bring them back.