Adage slams Dion-Chrysler partnership

One year after signing a three-year contract with Ms. Dion for a reported $14 million, Chrysler is all but pulling the plug on the French-Canadian chanteuse. The advertising campaign that featured more Dion than cars has been a disaster for Chrysler. Dealers complain that the branding campaign did more to sell the singer than it did the new Pacifica.

It is not as though Chrysler wasn't warned. Sources say Chrysler's ad agency, BBDO Worldwide, of Troy, Mich., discouraged its client from using the singer for its commercials. Still, the campaign went ahead despite test numbers showing that Ms. Dion appealed to a much older audience than Chrysler wanted.
"None of the Celine ads did especially well at breaking through the clutter," said Bob Coppola, Chrysler account group director at Millward Brown. "It was just about average."

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