Dive Brief:

• The memorable TV spots from DirecTV featuring Rob Lowe as various alter-egos—like "peaked in high school Rob Lowe" and "painfully awkward Rob Lowe"—have been pulled following a National Advertising Division ruling. 
• The complaint leading to the NAD decision came from cable competitor Comcast and alleged some of the claims in the ads weren't truthful. 
• DirecTV plans to appeal the ruling, but will pull the campaign before it "jumps the shark," according to Jon Gieselman, DirecTV’s senior vice president of marketing.

Dive Insight: 

When it comes to advertising, claims can often become a little bit murky. Some of the statements involved in the complaints—like “When it comes to sports, with DirecTV, you can have them all”—fall into a gray area of being hard to back up. Even though DirecTV is pulling the campaign, it had a long and fruitful run, and the highly shareable content will likely live on through the Internet rather than on TV screens.