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Celine Dion, DaimlerChrysler team up

Canadian singer Celine Dion poses with Chrysler Crossfire automobiles as she announces forming a partnership with Chrysler in Las Vegas, Nevada, Tuesday. PHOTO: REUTERS

Canadian diva Celine Dion has announced that she has teamed up with the US-German automaker DaimlerChrysler to sell its cars under a deal that industry sources said was worth US$10 million.

The three-year pact, that cannily coincides with the relaunch of the top-selling singer's career after her two-year break from the spotlight, was unveiled Tuesday at an auto industry event in the gambling city of Las Vegas.

Neither the 34-year-old French-speaking superstar nor DaimlerChrysler would comment Wednesday on how much the agreement -- which is aimed at reviving the car maker's dwindling sales and Dion's career -- was worth.

But sources close to the deal said earlier this week that Dion will earn around US$10 million from the scheme which will also see her record a song for the ad campaign.

Dion will be the star of a series of television commercials for the world's number-three automaker and will also engage in cross-promotional activities under the deal conceived by DaimlerChrysler and her record label, Sony Music.

Chrysler Group sales last month were down almost 31 percent compared to October 2001, part of what analysts saw as an overall auto industry year-on-year sales drop.

The US firm, which has struggled since being acquired by Germany's Daimler-Benz in 1998, hopes new campaign will help shed the unglamorous image of its cars and lend it them some European-style class.

"Soon I'll be driving a [Chrysler] Town and Country minivan, which is going to be a family thing," Dion said in an interview with the New York Times. "I'm ready to pick my own tomatoes with my son and my husband. That's my goal. Forget the limousines," she said.

Industry sources said that while the campaign was also aimed at boosting Dion's career, the huge endorsement fee would not include Chrysler sponsorship of her new Las Vegas show that opens at Caesar's Palace in March.

The sources said Dion's management team unsuccessfully sought more money in separate sponsorship fees for that show from the auto firm.

Dion is best known for her rendition of "My Heart Will Go On" for the soundtrack of the 1997 blockbuster Titanic, which has sold more than 140 million albums worldwide.

The deal marks the second such contract between a top musical star and a car company since last month.

British singer and actor Phil Collins agreed last month to hit the road in the US to help sell cars for Japanese auto giant Toyota by allowing the firm to use two of his songs to market their vehicles.

And former Police frontman Sting earlier this year promoted Ford-owned Jaguar's S-Type sedan.
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