Top shake-up at Wall’s

Wall’s has appointed a new marketing chief for its ice cream division following the departure of Michael Hebel.

Sharon Gardner, former international category manager for take-home ice cream, becomes business director for ice cream and will head the department’s marketing team.

She will oversee brands including Solero, Magnum, Viennetta and Carte D’Or, controlling an estimated advertising spend of 20m.

Hebel has returned to Hamburg to head the marketing of frozen foods for Langese Iglo – Unilever’s continental equivalent of Birds Eye Wall’s.

Hebel oversaw the redesign of Wall’s packaging and the introduction of the yellow and red heart-shaped logo – which is used across Europe – in April this year.

Magnum, which was developed in Hamburg, was introduced to the UK by Hebel in 1993 with the “Me and My Magnum” ad campaign.

Wall’s roster agencies include Ammirati Puris Lintas, McCann- Erickson and Ogilvy & Mather.

The Monopolies & Mergers Commission told Birds Eye Wall’s in July that the way it sells its Magnum, Cornetto and Solero brands is anti-competitive. It recommended that the company’s dominance of the ice cream market be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading. The MMC report followed a complaint from Mars.