The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has cleared a Mars marketing campaign featuring celebrity tweets for Snickers in a landmark ruling. 

The ASA ruled that tweets from Manchester defender Rio Ferdinand and model Katie Price did not breach advertising rules. It is the first time the advertising watchdog has been asked to consider Twitter posts. 

The ASA received two complaints from Ferdinand’s followers about a series of tweets that it was claimed were not identified as adverts. 

The series saw Ferdinand send some bizarre tweets about how knitting “Really getting into the knitting!!! Helps me relax after the high-pressure world of the Premiership”. 

It is only in the fifth tweet that he reveals the Snickers ad. “You’re not you when you’re hungry @snickersUK#hungry#spon”

The ASA ruled that because the final tweet included #spon (indicating it was sponsored content) and #snickersUK, it was clear that it was a marketing communication. 

The ASA ruling concluded: “We considered the combination of those elements was sufficient to make clear the tweets were advertising and that consumers would then understand each series of tweets was a marketing communication.”

No doubt, the ruling will open the door to more brands using celebrities to promote their products on social media sites like Twitter.

Posted by

Smarayda Christoforou