By now you’ve probably seen the DirecTV ads featuring handsome, charismatic Rob Lowe – a DirecTV subscriber – and his weird alter-egos with cable – Far Less Attractive Rob Lowe, Creepy Rob Lowe, and Painfully Awkward Rob Lowe – about a million and a half times. In fact, I’m pretty sure no other commercials actually exist on TV at this point.
Well, it appears that shy bladder sufferers are very upset with the ad (above) featuring Painfully Awkward Rob Lowe, who has some trouble going pee when other people are in the room.
From KansasCity.com:
The ad is in poor taste and ridicules a serious problem, said Steve Soifer, CEO of the International Paruresis Association, which estimates that some 7 percent of Americans have some form of “shy bladder syndrome.”
“We don’t mind if people have a little fun with it,” said Soifer, a social work professor at the University of Memphis. “It’s a situation that a lot of people don’t understand. In this particular case, the portrayal is making it look ridiculous, that this guy is a loser for having a problem.”
“What if he didn’t have a leg or an arm?” he said. “Are you going to make fun of them?”
Well, I’m not really sure I completely understand the relation to not being able to take a whizz in a public bathroom and being short a limb but whatever. DirecTV has said they’re not going to pull the ads because they’re confident most people can actually take a joke, and I say good for them.
Personally, I’m more offended by Lowe’s choice in living room furniture.
