The ice cream market in the UK is worth £550m, despite a modest decline over the last five years. And, it’s perhaps the slightly dropping trend that has prompted Wall’s, which controls 28 per cent of the market, to tag-line its 2003 marketing strategy “Bringing the Buzz Back to Ice Cream.”

Building on its brands is the starting point. A new £8.7m campaign backing the popular Magnum is Magnum 7 Deadly Sins – a staggered launch of limited edition flavours which started in February with Lust and Sloth. Staggering the launch is an attempt to extend the ice cream season – high summer – into spring and autumn.

Carte D’Or, with £6m behind it, launches Fruit & Fresh, a range of yoghurt and fruit-based products, designed to reach a new set of consumers.

Cornetto Soft – a huge success in 2002 – has a new Yoghurt Forest Fruits flavour and is backed by a £3.5m spend. Wall’s plan to double its availability.