Just when Wayne Rooney was getting positive headlines for putting England through to the Euro 2012 quarter finals, he has been lambasted for his part in a ‘stealth’ ad campaign for Nike on Twitter.
The sports brand has been found in breach of the ad code for using celebrity tweets – from both Rooney and fellow footballer Jack Wiltshire – to surreptitiously promote its products.
Two tweets for Nike were posted in January from the official accounts of Rooney and Wilshere, directing followers to the brand’s website as part of its Make it Count campaign.
Rooney stated “My resolution – to start the year as a champion, and finish it as a champion…#makeitcount gonike.me/makeitcount”, while Wilshere stated “In 2012, I will come back for my club – and be ready for my country. #makeitcount.gonike.me/Makeitcount”.
Nike claimed that because its URL was included it was obviously a marketing communication, but the watchdog disagreed, stating that it considered there was nothing obvious in the tweets to indicate they were marketing.
It added: ‘In the absence of such an indication, for example #ad, we considered the tweets were not obviously identifiable as Nike marketing communications and therefore concluded they breached the code.”
There has been a steady rise in complaints about so-called stealth advertisements on Twitter and Facebook, according to some reports, with the Office of Fair Trading warning celebrities and big brands against using what it describes as ‘deceptive’ advertising.
It said: “Online advertising and marketing practices that do not disclose they include paid for promotions are deceptive under trading laws.”
One advertising lawyer said: “This ruling does not mean the end to celebrity endorsement on social media. However, brands will need to become more aware and more creative when it comes to social media marketing.
“The ASA will not let social media slip through its gloves, so brands need to pay close attention to their social media campaign messages.”
