Ram Truck Brand and Academy of Country Music Partner to Bring First-Ever Text-to-Vote to Fans for Entertainer of the Year for 45th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC(R) AWARDS Country Music's Party of the Year(TM)

ENCINO, Calif., April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ram Truck Brand and the Academy of Country Music announced today the first-ever text-to-vote for the Entertainer of the Year fan-voted category, the highest accolade bestowed on an artist as part of the 45th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, hosted by Reba McEntire.  The ceremony, which honors country music's top talent as well as the industry's hottest emerging artists, is produced for television by dick clark productions and will be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 18th, 2010 at 8:00 PM ET/PT on the CBS Television Network.

This text-to-vote powered by Ram Truck will provide fans with the first-time opportunity to utilize texting to vote for the evening's biggest award, Entertainer of the Year, for which Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Taylor Swift, reigning Entertainer of the Year Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Zac Brown Band, are all nominated this year.

Voting will begin at the start of the telecast, when codes for each artist are given simultaneously, and will continue until the third hour of the show. Until then, fans may log onto www.VoteACM.com, also powered by Ram Truck, to vote.

"We know every aspect of the Ram truck customer and we know that country is among their favorite genres of music to listen to while driving in their Ram truck or having fun with their family," said Fred Diaz, President and CEO – Ram Truck Brand, Chrysler Group LLC.  "We made a commitment to connect with our customers and what better way than through music and the iconic Academy of Country Music Awards."  

"The Academy strives to expand the reach of country music by finding new ways to engage fans and consumers," says Bob Romeo, Executive Director of the Academy of Country Music. "We have had tremendous success incorporating fan voting into our awards show and are thrilled to partner with the distinguishable, country-friendly Ram Truck Brand to give fans an immediate, interactive awards show experience through text voting for Entertainer of the Year."

This partnership is one element of the marketing and advertising launch of the 2010 Ram Heavy Duty truck, now available at Ram Truck dealerships nationwide.

About the Academy of Country Music Awards

The 45th Academy of Country Music Awards is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the country music industry.  The show is produced for television by dick clark productions and will be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.  Orly Adelson and R.A. Clark are executive producers.  Barry Adelman is producer, and Bob Bardo is the executive in charge of production. Bob Romeo is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.  For more information, please visit www.acmcountry.com.

About the Ram Truck Brand

With a work-hard, play-hard attitude, the Ram Truck brand offers the boldest, most powerful and capable pickup truck lineup on the planet.  The Ram Truck brand will add to its award-winning truck lineup with the introduction of the all-new 2010 Ram 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty trucks, Motor Trend's Truck of the Year. The new heavy-duty trucks provide customers with first-time innovations and features along with new standards of strength, utility and driveability, building on the Ram's leadership in the heavy-duty pickup segment.

Introduced in 2008, the Ram 1500 is a game-changer in terms of its ability to "outsmart" and "out-tough" the competition with its bold exterior design, crafted and refined interior, engineering excellence, superb innovation and best-in-class features and amenities. The Ram 1500 also ranks at the top of Strategic Vision Inc.'s (SVI) 2009 Total Quality Index™ (TQI) in the full-size truck segment. According to the survey, the Ram 1500 leads the way with the highest Total Quality score of any truck in the 15-year history of the study. Customers specifically noted that the Ram has the best added storage capability along with the best truck interior ever rated by customers.

The Ram Truck brand will further enhance its commercial vehicle presence with the introduction of a "new crew" of commercial-grade work trucks: the new 2011 Ram 3500, 4500 and 5500 Chassis Cabs. Led by an all-new crew cab, the new 2011 Ram Chassis Cabs are built on a proven frame and chassis, and engineered for maximum uptime, optimum performance and enhanced commercial capability.

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SOURCE Academy of Country Music

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