• by Nina Lentini  @Nina_Lentini, July 17, 2008

Hayden Panettiere, the 18-year-old star of NBC's "Heroes," will be featured in "sexy and sweet" ads for Iconix Brand Group's junior brand, Candies.

Back-to-school TV, print and online ads will bow later this summer. The campaign will be unveiled in September issues of fashion, entertainment and lifestyle magazines and the commercial will debut on MTV in August.

The commercial will be a direct lift from Panettiere's first music video, "Wake Up Call,"--which was styled by Candie's apparel, footwear and accessories, available only at Kohl's Department Stores and Kohls.com. Kohl's also will incorporate the Candie's campaign into its back-to-school creative. This is Panettiere's second season with the brand.

"To coincide with the television, a print campaign will feature Panettiere in a variety of sexy and sweet vignettes as she playfully poses with a piano, behind a beaded curtain and in a club-like setting among others," per Iconix.

The "Wake Up Call" video and the Candie's commercial were shot in Los Angeles by music video director Chris Applebaum, and the print campaign was shot by fashion photographer Giuliano Bekor and created by the Iconix in-house marketing team.

Dari Marder, CMO at Candie's, called Panettiere "the ideal Candie's girl" in a statement. "She is what Hollywood calls a triple threat as she currently has a successful television and film career and is now poised to become a powerful recording artist."

Currently, fans can listen to the artist's first single, also called "Wake Up Call," at candies. com and kohls.com/inspire. The single will be available for download on iTunes beginning Aug. 5. The single is being released by Hollywood Records.

The company says Panettiere will be continuing her role as the spokesperson for the popular junior brand through the holiday season.