Cornetto, meaning "little horn" in Italian, is an Italian brand of frozen dessertcone, the manufacturer owned by the British-Dutch company Unilever. Cornettos are sold as part of the Heartbrand product line, known internatally by different names, including Algida in Italy, Wall's in the UK, HB in the Republic of Ireland, Frigo in Spain, and Kwality Wall's in India. Several variations of the product exist, ranging from milk-based ice cream to vegetable fat-based dessert.
Manufacturing
For a long time, the idea of selling frozen ice-cream cones had been impractical, as the ice cream would soak into the cone during the manufacturing process and make it soggy and unpalatable when served. In 1959, Spica, an Italian ice-cream manufacturer based in Naples, overcame this problem by insulating the inside of the waffle cone from the ice cream with a coating of oil, sugar, and chocolate. They are sold in many different sizes throughout Europe in sizes ranging from 28-ml Miniatures to 260-ml King Cones, though the 90-ml and 125-ml sizes tend to be the most popular.
Varieties
The product is available in a variety of flavours, including Strawberry, Mint Chocolate, Nut, Lemon, Whippy, Valentine's Day flavours, and Cornetto Soft. Cornetto Soft is sold on the street by vendors and is made on the spot with an ice cream dispenser, but the other flavours are premade and factory packaged. Also, Cornetto Enigma is made, which consists of cookies and cream, raspberry and double chocolate flavours. Unilever introduced a Cornetto chocolate confectionery into the UK market in 2013, following a licensing deal with Kinnerton Confectionery.
The brand was marketed in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Brazil by successful advertising campaigns which placed the Neapolitan song "O Sole Mio" into a variety of stereotypical Italian locations and situations, with its lyrics changed to: In Britain and Ireland, the advertisements ran for 10 years during the 1980s and 1990s, with the song supposedly sung by former Italian waiter Renato Pagliari of one-hit wondersRenée and Renato. In 2000, the commercial was ranked 23rd in Channel 4’s UK poll of the "100 Greatest Adverts". The theme resurfaced in 2006, this time sung by pedestrians, drivers, office workers, and marathon runners in Central London. In the Philippines, the "Sarap ng 20 Pesos" campaign was launched in 2008 relying on humour and focused on the product's affordability, with skits that centre on things one cannot afford with 20 pesos and suggests that the audience should buy a Cornetto, instead. "Mag-Cornetto ka na lang" and "Hanggang saan aabot ang 20 pesos mo?" were used as slogans for the campaign. By May 2011, 30 story lines had been produced. The television advertisement entitled "Tugs" which is part of the campaign was selected as the Adobo Ad of the Year for 2010 through online voting at the ad agency band night "Lakihan Mo Logo 14".
