Nestlé turns icon into a music star

The music video is slated to air on music and entertainment programmes of provincial TV stations as the brand had been looking for new media opportunities. There are also plans to approach MTV and Channel V about airing the five-minute video in which an antique store sales clerk escapes her dreary life to become the singing Ice Genie. Ken Donaldson, director of Nestlé's ice cream unit for Greater China, added: "We have to apply the right communication tool to reach the right people. Chinese teens all told us, through consumer focus groups, that music is one of their favourite (pleasures). In order to talk to them in their language, the music video was selected this year." J. Walter Thompson created the icon and brand platform last year when Nestlé sought to revive its market position and move from back- to top-of-mind with mainland consumers. Alec Cheng, JWT Beijing managing director, said the plan was to push the icon as an up and coming pop star in order to sharpen its communications with Chinese teens. "It's all about escape and magical pleasure, which is the brand idea of Nestlé in China," said Cheng. In making the leap to pop stardom, the icon was also given a facelift with a few fashion twists, said Cheng. JWT co-produced the video with Beijing production house, Frontline. The agency also created two TV executions -- one features a young woman who refuses to kiss her boyfriend, preferring her Nestlé drumstick's new cheese flavour instead. The second TVC demonstrates the sensation of biting into Nestlé's stick-based X-Crunch product, which now includes a cup version. As the TVC shows, the X-Crunch taste sensation is big enough to blow away a five-finger mountain from the Chinese Monkey King legend. The new products were launched nationwide in February with extensivePOP support ahead of the TV push, which began in China's northern markets in early March and the east in late March.