Why are Rob Lowe and Matthew McConaughey doing cheesy TV ads?

ROB LOWE may have left "Parks and Recreation," but suddenly he's on TV more than ever. You likely know this because you've been bombarded by those weird DirecTV commercials where his alter-ego, "Super Creepy Rob Lowe," has only regular cable and is therefore a potbellied weirdo who lurks at public pools.

Lowe isn't the only actor at the peak of his career to start shilling for a huge company.

Matthew McConaughey is a recent Oscar winner whose ads for Lincoln Motors are impossible to escape. You've seen his widely parodied commercial, featuring the actor driving an SUV down a dark road, reciting a monologue.

The ad was rightly skewered on "Saturday Night Live" this weekend by host Jim Carrey, who mocked the opening lines: "Sometimes you gotta go back to actually move forward. . . . I mean, take a big step back. Like, go from winning an Oscar to doing a car commercial."

What's the deal with stars who have it all - huge paychecks, awards, acclaim - taking part in overplayed TV spots?

That's easy, some advertising experts say: Because these days, the more exposure, the better. Gone are the days when appearing in an ad was seen as lame and selling out, the days when Brad Pitt and George Clooney would film commercials exclusively overseas so the U.S. audience would never see.

Now, it's just common sense in an increasingly competitive marketplace to stay in the public eye however possible.

"I think that because of digital media and social media, people are not afraid of that stigma to be a sell-out anymore," said Pete Favat, chief creative officer at ad agency Deutsch in Los Angeles.

Another reason is pure economics. Successful actors line up to do those Capital One ads, including Alec Baldwin and Jennifer Garner. Of course, some stars don't really even care that much about the financial perks: A job is a job and they just like to keep busy. (Baldwin said he got paid $15 million for the gig and gave it all to charity.)