Cornetto eyes music for teen appeal

The  move is part of a broader blitz by the ice-cream brand, which is seeking to resonate better with its key audience of teenagers during the traditionally lean non-summer months.

In addition to the Love is in the Air love song, the campaign - developed in conjunction with Nitro and MindShare - also includes a music video, 30- and 15-second TVCs, mobile activation, and exclusive footage at the walls.com.cn website.

"The phrase gets bandied around a lot, but we really want to focus on 360-degree activation," said Unilever business director Ian Maskell. "We felt that getting an artist to create a single added a new dimension. Everyone loves pop music, but that's difficult for anyone to own - we're really in the love songs territory."

The JJ Lin-penned tune features the Cornetto brand name, a move that may surprise pop music fans in other markets. Maskell, however, points out that the "beautifully uncynical" Chinese consumer, combined with rampant piracy, has created an opportunity for ambitious brands.

"The music industry is growing extremely fast from an extremely small base, but actually selling records is not a very big part of the income because of piracy - it's actually appearances and other forms of promotion that will drive popularity," explained Maskell.

The campaign also includes a lid mechanism that enables Cornetto buyers to text a unique code to download free ringtones and wallpapers featuring the two pop stars from sina.com.

Wall's is usually ranked behind Yili and Mengniu in China's ice-cream market, although the Cornetto sub-brand is believed to be the number one cone product.

"The business is challenge is how to keep interest and brand up, out of the peak season," added Maskell.