The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

-d -h -min -sec

Brands, here's how to #makeitcount on Twitter and not fall foul of the ASA like Wayne Rooney and Nike

By Sarah Bazaraa

June 20, 2012 | 4 min read

Sarah Bazaraa, solicitor in the media team at law firm Pannone, urges brands to be cautious after Wayne Rooney is rapped for promoting Nike on Twitter.

In the first ruling of its kind, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has held that tweets posted by footballers Wayne Rooney and Jack Wilshere advertising Nike breached the CAP Code.

In January 2012, Wayne Rooney posted the following tweet “My resolution – to start the year as a champion, and finish it as a champion…#makeitcountgonike.me/makeitcount”, with his football rival Jack Wilshere posting a similar tweet stating “In 2012, I will come back for my club – and be ready for my country #makeitcount.gonike.me/Makeitcount”.

Following an anonymous complaint, the ASA investigated whether the tweets were obviously identifiable as marketing communications, as required by rule 2.1 of the CAP Code.

Nike argued that the tweets were communicated to those who chose to “follow” the footballers and who would have known that the footballers, and the teams for which they played, were sponsored by Nike. They said that it was clear from the inclusion of the Nike URL and the Nike campaign strapline #makeitcount that those tweets comprised marketing communications.

The ASA disagreed and considered that the Nike reference was not prominent in the tweets and could be missed by consumers quickly scrolling through their twitter accounts. The ASA noted that consumers may not have been aware of Nike’s #makeitcount campaign which launched around the same time as the tweets were posted and that not all twitter users would have been aware of the football players’ sponsorship deals with Nike.

In all the circumstances, the ASA held that there was nothing obvious in the tweets to indicate that they were Nike marketing communications and that they must no longer appear in their present forms.

Brands are quickly waking up to the speed with which they can reach consumers through social media and celebrity tweets can be an invaluable endorsement.

It is reported that Kim Kardashian has earned up to $10,000 for sending a single tweet and companies such as Range Rover are said to have paid celebrities to promote their products.

Earlier this year, the ASA carried out an investigation following tweets posted by Katie Price and Rio Ferdinand which included the statement “You’re not you when you’re hungry @snickersUk#hungry#spon” and photographs of the celebrities holding a Snickers chocolate bar. In that instance, however, the ASA held that consumers would have understood the series of tweets to amount to marketing communications.

The ASA held that the “#spon” tag used in conjunction with the text “@snickersUk” and, compared with the tweets usually posted by Rio Ferdinand and Katie Price, highlighted the celebrities’ association with the Snickers brand.

Brands wishing to include social media within their marketing campaigns need to take into account the above ASA decisions to ensure that they do not fall foul of the CAP Code. The ASA has suggested that marketing campaigns include the hashtag #spon or #ad to make it clear to consumers that the communication comprises a commercial advertisement.

Although in the case of Nike, the company was required only to ensure that the tweets no longer appeared in its present form, the ASA has a range of other sanctions which it can employ against persistent offenders.

Those who fail to adhere to the rules may find themselves subject to ad alerts advising CAP members to withhold services such as access to advertising space, and pre-vetting which could require organisations to seek ASA prior approval before publication.

The ASA may also refer persistent offenders to the Office of Fair Trading which could result in the instigation of legal proceedings under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 or the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008.

It is therefore important that marketing teams familiarise themselves with the rules and ensure that social media online communications comply with the Code.

Trending

Industry insights

View all
Add your own content +