ASA to investigate celebrity tweets endorsing Snickers bars

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is investigating Mars' online campaign for Snickers bars following complaints that a number of celebrities -including footballer Rio Ferdinand and Katie Price - were promoting the chocolate on Twitter.

It is considered deceptive advertising if it is not disclosed that such promotions are paid for, so the ASA said that it would examine whether the initial tweets, with the hashtag #spons, made it clear that the celebrities were being paid to endorse the product.

Following a similar investigation in December 2010, into Handpicked Media, a company operating a network of bloggers and niche website, the Office of Fair Trading said: "Online promotional activity, just like any other promotional activity, must clearly identify when promotions and editorial comment have been paid for, so that consumers are not misled."

Heather Clayton, Senior Director of OFT's Consumer Group, explained the OFT's view: "The internet plays a key role in how people purchase products and services and the importance of online advertising continues to grow.

"The integrity of information published online is crucial so that people can make informed decisions on how to spend their money."