DirecTV Taking Fire After Swimsuit Model Ad
The sexy makeover campaign was meant to be funny, but is now backfiring.
— -- DirecTV is famous for its ads featuring two versions of Rob Lowe, one geeky and one gorgeous, but now the company is under fire for what some are calling their most controversial ads yet.
The satellite provider’s latest campaign features Sports Illustrated models Chrissy Teigen, Nina Agdal and cover girl Hannah Davis dressed in ways we’ve never seen them before -- as an obsessed cat lady, a cigarette smoking lunch lady and a big-haired mom who all have cable, juxtaposing them against images of the models bearing their bikini models.
The ad suggests that the so-called upgraded versions of the women all came with an upgrade from cable to DirecTV.
Some say the ads are sending the wrong message. One commenter posted online, “This is shameful. We equate the shallow ‘job’ of displaying one’s body with success, meanwhile we put down women have real lives and real jobs."
Another wrote, “Once again advertising fails women.”
“People will look at that and think, ‘That is not okay. We can’t demean the working class,’” body image expert, Dr. Robyn Silverman, told ABC News.
Others are calling out reverse sexism online.
"So it’s fine when it’s Rob Lowe as the hunky piece of man meat, but when it’s ladies in the same scenario it’s not okay?,” one wrote.
“The ads can be seen as a double standard, absolutely,” said Silverman. “Some people will look at them and think the ads are exactly the same.”
DirecTV is standing by their ads, telling ABC News: “The ads were specifically created to run in the 2015 Sport’s Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and were meant to work within the context of the editorial of the magazine, which is beautiful women in swimsuits. The intention of the ads was to show a fun, tongue-in-cheek example of how DIRECTV is superior to cable."
“The problem with these ads is that they have nothing to do with DirecTV, they are guilting us,” said Stephen Galloway, executive features editor of The Hollywood Reporter.
Cover model Chrissy Teigen told ABC News she sees no harm in her mega-haired makeunder.
“We had fun,” she said. “We had a good time and we didn’t mean to be demeaning or degrading or hurt anybody’s feelings. It is a funny ad. It is supposed to be funny. Take it for what it is.”
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