DirecTV killed its long-running Rob Lowe campaign in April after more than six months of spots in which the actor introduced pathetic versions of himself—the kind of guy who has cable instead of DirecTV. But now, the campaign is back, with NFL stars stepping into Lowe's shoes but with the setup otherwise basically intact.
In one new spot, we get Eli Manning versus Bad Comedian Eli Manning. In another, it's Tony Romo against Arts & Craftsy Tony Romo. But while Lowe has been replaced, Tom Kuntz has returned as the director.
The Rob Lowe campaign was discontinued following a ruling by the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus that some of the claims in the ads (including those about customer satisfaction and quality) were not defensible. These new spots won't have that problem, as they focus on NFL Sunday Ticket, which DirecTV has exclusively. (You'll notice Manning and Romo's dissing of cable is exceedingly broad, too.)
Manning is his typical mix of awkward and charming in his ad, while Romo mostly offers an amusing permagrin. They didn't skimp on the makeup in either spot, which carries a lot of the comedy as well. (Try to ignore the fact that both of these guys will generally be busy on Sundays, and not really in the market for NFL Sunday Ticket.)
Somewhere, Extremely Jealous Rob Lowe is wishing he were still doing this campaign.
Check out a pair of behind-the-scenes videos below.
CREDITS
Client: DirecTV, NFL Sunday Ticket
Agency: Grey, New York
—Spot: "Bad Comedian"
Chief Creative Officer: Tor Myhren
Group Creative Directors: Steve Fogel, Doug Fallon
Copywriter: Steve McElligott
Art Director: Jerome Marucci
Account Team: Chris Ross, Beth Culley, John Baker, Danielle Weiner, Jake Wanamaker
Agency Executive Producer: Andrew Chinich
Agency Producer: Lindsay Myers
Production Company: Paramount Studios
Director: Tom Kuntz
Producer: Emily Skinner
Director of Photography: Jo Willems
Editor: Gavin Cutler, Mackenzie Cutler
Assistant Editor: Pamela Petruski
Visual Effects: Framestore
Producer: Christa Cox
Principal Talent: Eli Manning
—Spot: "Arts & Craftsy"
Chief Creative Officer: Tor Myhren
Group Creative Directors: Steve Fogel, Doug Fallon
Copywriter: Kim Nguyen
Art Director: Marques Gartrell
Account Team: Chris Ross, Beth Culley, John Baker, Danielle Weiner, Jake Wanamaker
Agency Executive Producer: Andrew Chinich
Agency Producer: Lindsay Myers
Production Company: Paramount Studios
Director: Tom Kuntz
Producer: Emily Skinner
Director of Photography: Jo Willems
Editor: Gavin Cutler, Mackenzie Cutler
Assistant Editor: Pamela Petruski
Visual Effects: Framestore
Producer: Christa Cox
Principal Talent: Tony Romo
