Nike has become "the first UK company to have a Twitter campaign banned," after the Advertising Standards Authority decided that its use of the personal accounts of EPL clubs Manchester United F Wayne Rooney and Arsenal MF Jack Wilshere “broke rules for not clearly telling the public their tweets were ads,” according to Mark Sweney of the GUARDIAN. Nike, which has sponsorship deals with Rooney and Wilshire, “ran the Twitter campaign as part of a wider marketing push under the Make It Count advertising" effort. A tweet posted by Rooney, who has 4.37 million followers, said: "My resolution -- to start the year as a champion, and finish it as a champion...#makeitcount gonike.me/makeitcount.” A tweet from Wilshere said: "In 2012, I will come back for my club -- and be ready for my country.#makeitcount.gonike.me/Makeitcount." Nike UK said that both players “were well-known for being sponsored by the retailer which argued that Twitter ‘followers’ would not be misled about the relationship it had with the players.” It added that the web address in the tweet “was clearly branded as Nike," and that the message carried the company's ad tagline, "making it clear which tweets by the players were personal and which were ads.” The ASA said, "We considered that the Nike reference was not prominent and could be missed. We considered there was nothing obvious in the tweets to indicate they were Nike marketing communications." The ASA added, “The ads must no longer appear. We told Nike to ensure that its advertising was obviously identifiable as such” (GUARDIAN, 6/20).
LEARNING ON THE FLY: The FINANCIAL TIMES' Tim Bradshaw reported that the complaint is the first to be upheld against Twitter activity involving advertisers since the ASA "assumed new powers to regulate social media last year" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 6/20). The London DAILY MAIL notes the ASA ruling “comes amid mounting concern that celebrities are cashing in by turning Twitter into an advertising platform.” Nina Best, a specialist in brands and advertising law at legal firm Browne Jacobson, 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” (London DAILY MAIL, 6/20).
TWITTER REAX: The news of Nike's ban garnered some reaction on Twitter. British advertising magazine The Drum posted a link to a story on its site about what brands can learn and wrote, "Brands, here's how to #makeitcount on Twitter and not fall foul of the ASA like Wayne Rooney and Nike." Meltwater Group Dir of PR Dan Purvis wrote on Twitter, "Bit harsh me thinks! '#Nike becomes first UK company to have #Twitter campaign banned.'" UPS Senior Project Leader for Sponsorships & Events J.W. Cannon wrote, "OOPS: #Nike Gets Wayne Rooney Twitter Advertising Campaign Banned."
