Wayne Rooney and Jack Wilshere reprimanded for tweets promoting Nike

Wayne Rooney and Jack Wilshere have been reprimanded by the advertising watchdog for tweets they sent promoting sportswear giants Nike.

Rooney tweeted from his official account in January:

Wilshere wrote at around the same time: "In 2012, I will come back for my club - and be ready for my country. #makeitcount.gonike.me/Makeitcount."

One person complained that the tweets were obviously identifiable as marketing on behalf of Nike.

The sportswear giant defended the campaign, saying both footballers were well known for being sponsored by Nike and added that the players were only communicating with those who had chosen to follow them

The company said it therefore believed that Rooney and Wilshere's Twitter followers would not be misled about the relationship between the footballers and Nike.

Nike also added that the players' Twitter feeds made it clear which were personal tweets and which were ads. They said the offending tweets - which had a Nike URL and the tag #makeitcount - were clearly advertisements.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it understood both players were required to take part in marketing activities and both were asked to give their own ideas on what to write in their tweets, but that the final content was agreed with the help of a member of the Nike marketing team.

It ruled that the "ads" must no longer appear on the site and told Nike to ensure that its advertising was obviously identifiable as such.