Ram Truck Brand and Southern-Rock Artist Zac Brown Band Form Partnership

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Apr 16, 2010, 03:39 ET

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., April 16 /PRNewswire/ --

Launches "Letters for Lyrics" at Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep_® and Ram Truck dealerships with goal to deliver one million letters to U.S. soldiers in return for 1 million "Breaking Southern Ground" CDs
Provides exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the band's USO Tour featured on RamTrucks.com
Offers exclusive song download of latest single, "Free"

The Ram Truck Brand today announced a partnership with GRAMMY-winning artists, Zac Brown Band to help honor U.S. soldiers as well as promote the band's USO Tour and their latest single.

Fueled by a Platinum major label debut, four #1 singles and numerous honors and accolades, including their GRAMMY win as "Best New Artist," "Top New Vocal Group" from the Academy of Country Music and "Breakthrough Video of the Year" from Country Music Television and USA Weekend – Zac Brown Band is poised to move front-and-center in 2010.

"Just as your vehicle is an extension of who you are – music also defines your inner character," said Olivier Francois, Lead Marketing Executive, Chrysler Group LLC. "The Ram Truck Brand and Zac Brown Band both strive to connect with people and have a unifying 'can do' attitude and a character filled with authenticity, care, passion and pride."

"We are excited about the new alignment with Zac Brown Band," said Fred Diaz, President and CEO – Ram Truck Brand, Chrysler Group LLC. "It's the Grammy-award winning 'Best New Artist' meets the 2010 Motor Trend 'Truck of the Year.' It's a true win-win partnership for our customers, dealers and the Ram Truck Brand."

"Performing with the USO for the men and women in uniform has been a great experience for us. We wanted to find a bigger way to thank them, a way to mobilize people nationwide to show their support for these incredible individuals," explains Zac Brown on how the "Letters for Lyrics" campaign came about. "Ram Truck Brand was the perfect partner to realize this dream; not only do they share our commitment to recognize the troops' service and sacrifice but they are determined to ensure this program helps to send a little piece of home to our service members abroad."

The partnership includes a letter-writing program to U.S. soldiers, exclusive documentary footage from the band's USO Tour and a song download of the band's latest single, "Free."

Letters for Lyrics Campaign

Starting in May, Zac Brown Band and the Ram Truck Band kick off "Letters for Lyrics," a national campaign with a goal of sending 1 million letters to U.S. soldiers stationed across the world. Participants who write a letter to a U.S. soldier will receive a special compilation CD titled, "Breaking Southern Ground," while supplies last. This exclusive CD features three all-new songs from Zac Brown Band, as well as music from artists signed to Zac Brown's label, Southern Ground Records, Sonia Leigh, Nic Cowan and Levi Lowrey.

Soldier's Angels, a nonprofit organization, will deliver the letters on behalf of the Zac Brown Band and the Ram Truck Brand. Soldier's Angels is a volunteer-led organization with over 225,000 members providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, along with veterans and their families.

"We believe that 'Letters for Lyrics' will spark the public's interest in contributing to our troops abroad and to their families here at home. This goodwill gesture embodies one of the main pillars in the Ram Truck Brand's DNA and demonstrates our continued support for the nation's men and women in the military," said Diaz.

A 30-second "Letters for Lyrics" teaser spot, featuring the Ram Truck Brand and Zac Brown Band, will debut during the Academy of Country Music Awards, which airs live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Sunday, April 18, at 8 p.m. on the CBS Television Network.

USO Tour Documentary and Song Download on RamTrucks.com

Viewers will be able to see behind-the-scene footage taped by the band as they document their April visit to U.S. soldiers stationed in the Persian Gulf. Documentary-style segments and concert footage will premiere on RamTrucks.com and new episodes will be posted throughout the duration of the program.

An exclusive live version of the band's latest single, "Free," will also be available for download for the first 100,000 fans, only at the RamTrucks.com web site. For each download, the Ram Truck Brand will make a donation to a designated charity on behalf of the brand and Zac Brown Band.

"The marketing and advertising launch for the Ram Heavy Duty is one of the most comprehensive programs developed for the Ram Truck Brand," said Marissa Hunter, Head of Ram Truck Communication, Chrysler Group LLC. "The partnership with Zac Brown Band is just one element of the marketing and advertising launch of the 2010 Ram Heavy Duty truck, now available at Ram Truck dealerships nationwide."

About the Zac Brown Band

Zac Brown Band were recently named GRAMMY's "Best New Artist" and are nominated for four Academy of Country Music Awards including "Entertainer of the Year." The band's platinum-certified, major label debut 'The Foundation' - one of Billboard's Top 20 albums of 2009 - is out now on Atlantic Records and features the band's first four #1 singles. Currently on the road with their "Breaking Southern Ground" national tour, Zac Brown Band will also join the Dave Matthews Band to perform at select shows across the U.S. this summer including New York's Citi Field. Additional information can be found at http://www.zacbrownband.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 its 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 Chrysler Group LLC