UK probes Snickers over 'celebrity' Twitter adverts
Rio Ferdinand and Jordan fingered for promo tweets
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Updated The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is to investigate a promotional campaign by confectionery giant Mars, which hired B-list celebrities to push its Snickers candy bars.
“Following two complaints, the ASA has launched a formal investigation into tweets by Katie Price and Rio Ferdinand to establish whether Mars’ @SnickersUK#hungry#spon campaign is in breach of the Advertising Codes,” press officer Matt Wilson told The Register.
The complaints were inspired after the pair began posting a series of out-of-character tweets, with Price commenting on the state of the global economy and the macho Ferdinand tweeting about knitting. Price then said that she wasn’t quite herself because she was hungry and posted up a photo of herself with a Snickers (or Marathon as they used to be known in the UK) – with the tagline @SnickersUK#hungry#spon.
Katie Price, noted economist?
The ASA investigation will looks at whether the social media advertising breached trading standards – by law, such marketing communications have to be clearly labeled. The complaints hinge on if the initial tweets should have said they were part of a marketing campaign, and if the #spon hashtag made it clear that Mars was paying for the whole thing.
Advertising, because football's not lucrative enough
Certainly followers of the two were less than impressed by the campaign, with Rio Ferdinand’s followers tweeting "Do you really need the money that badly?" and another adding "I'm not on here to be advertised at." Ferdinand, who is currently earning £130,000 a week from his footballing career, did not respond.
Boxer Amir Khan, cricketer Sir Ian Botham, and X-Factor loser Cher Lloyd have also been involved in the campaign, although no one has bothered to complain to the ASA about them. ®
Update
Mars got back to us with a comment that was brief and to the point. A company spokesperson said “We will look to cooperate fully with the ASA on this investigation.”
COMMENTS
Can't we just assume
That anyone stupid enough to give a toss what inane and irrelevant drivel seeps from these two pointless turds is also too stupid to know or care that they are the are being advertised at? Surely we should be celebrating that for a few seconds at least the single digit IQ brigade gaped slack-jawed at Twatter instead of some unspeakable "reality" TV show where amoeba compete with each other for who can be the bottom of the gene pool?
On the upside the turds are pictured tucking into something that looks very much like a......
Dear America
I know this has already been said, but it's Friday and i need to get this off my chesticles...
1. In the UK they are chocolate bars. Candy is generally reserved for the pink sugary confection known as "candy floss". Thats the ONLY definition of candy in the UK. Even candy canes are called sugar canes.
2. I'ts a Marathon bar, the original name was to suggest it was a long running weighty bar with bags of energy. Not a fucking "Snickers". What corporate wank-bubble decided to call it "snickers". You might as well go all the hog, stick it in pink wrapper and declare it has fewer than 600 calories. You know, for the "image conscious" amongst us.....
3. Who gives a toss what these cretinous empty headed fucktards think....
Rant over....Still makes my piss boil / shit itch.....
You're in the wrong job
If someone makes the effort to give you feedback, you really should be listening. 90% of unhappy customers wont bother, and just avoid your products in future. The 10% who care enough to give you a second chance are gold. Even if your business model says you're willing to lose existing customers for new markets.
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