Premier League stars including Steven Gerrard , Theo Walcott and Phil Jones could face an advertising watchdog probe they plugged an Adidas sale on Twitter . Manchester City 's David Silva and Everton 's Phil Jagielka were also among around a dozen players sponsored by the firm who urged millions of followers to buy the knock-down goods . This comes amid mounting concern that celebrities and sports stars are cashing in by turning Twitter into an advertising platform . The players posted messages within minutes of each other yesterday , with Arsenal forward Walcott tweeting : 'For 25 hours you can get 25 % discount on Adidas.co.uk if you use 'friendsoftheo ' . ' Premier League stars including Arsenal forward Theo Walcott ( pictured ) could face an advertising watchdog probe they plugged an Adidas sale on Twitter . Silva tweeted : 'Who is up for 25 % savings on @ adidas products ? Click here to find out more ! # friendsofdavid . ' Guidance from the Advertising Standards Authority states that when there is payment and control from an advertiser , the sponsored tweet should be obviously identifiable . British celebrities have been advised to include the word 'ad ' or 'spon ' to show if something is an advert or sponsored . The watchdog has previously banned a Nike campaign featuring tweets from Wayne Rooney , one of its brand ambassadors , because they were not clearly identified as promotional messages . Players including Steven Gerrard ( pictured ) and Everton 's Phil Jagielka were among around a dozen players sponsored by the firm who urged millions of followers to buy the knock-down goods . It was the first UK company to have a Twitter campaign banned , after the ASA ruled in 2012 that the use of the personal accounts of footballers broke the rules . The Manchester United striker , who has more than 11 million followers , tweeted : 'My resolution — to start the year as a champion , and finish it as a champion ... # makeitcount gonike.me/makeitcount ' . A tweet from Jack Wilshere said : 'In 2012 , I will come back for my club — and be ready for my country. # makeitcount.gonike.me/Makeitcount ' . Both footballers were banned from repeating the messages and Nike was warned about ensuring all Twitter advertising is easily identifiable . England footballer Phil Jones and Manchester City 's David Silva posted messages within minutes of each other . But another one of Rooney 's tweets was said to have not breached advertising rules because its language was markedly different from the footballer 's usual Twitter messages . This tweet said : 'The pitches change . The killer instinct does n't . Own the turf , anywhere . @ NikeFootball # myground . ' The Advertising Standards Authority has not yet received any complaints about the promotional tweets for Adidas . But a spokesman said : 'If we receive complaints that tweets have broken rules , we will investigate . 'Marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as such . 'If any social media account ( including celebrity twitter accounts ) are tweeting ads and it 's not clear from the context that these are marketing communications then they need to be labelled as an ad . ' Some fans saw straight through the players ' Adidas tweets , with GX Blue ‏tweeting : ' I bet you David Silva did n't write that tweet himself ! ! ' A spokesman for Adidas said : 'To our knowledge , there have not been any complaints about the tweets and we have not been contacted by the ASA with regards to this matter . 'This is a promotion we run several times a year in collaboration with our players to offer fans a sizeable discount and the tweets are clearly identifiable as marketing communication . '
Top footballers are under fire for using Twitter to promote an Adidas sale . The German football association (DFB) has been accused of promoting the deal by tweeting a picture of its players wearing Adidas' new kit.