"One Heart" album - Official Topic

[Javito]

The Chrysler deal was a flop

 

What went wrong?

"Celine Dion personifies the Chrysler brand slogan," said Jim Schroer, Chrysler's former global sales and marketing chief, when the marketing agreement was announced in November 2002. "This is the kind of branded harmony you dream about."

But sources say Mr. Schroer pushed the deal through --against the advice of his ad agency. BBDO's Detroit office, which handles Chrysler's national advertising, wanted no part of Dion, sources say. Chrysler's strategy was to move the brand upscale by attracting younger, more affluent consumers. But during testing, BBDO's focus groups told Chrysler that Ms. Dion appealed to consumers with an average age of 52.

 

Same as happens with her music, he means?

[LuisMa]

I wonder what those focus groups would tell them now.

[chocolatechip15]

One thing about Celine is that she's at least very loyal in her celebrity endorsements -- she's been endorsing Chrysler since at least 1987:

 

 

I think this is her funniest Chrysler commercial:

 

[Prima_Donna1]

Yeah I like those old chrysler commercials with Celine. They were cool.

[québecflower]

I wonder what those focus groups would tell them now.

nothing, most of them are dead Edited January 5, 2014 at 05:28 PM by québecflower

[CelinesDIVO5]

The campaign with Chrysler actually lasted till the very end of 'A New Day...'. If you check out the back of the Vegas DVD/Blu-Ray, you'll see the Chrysler logo.

 

The Celine/Chrysler campaign did not last. The sponsorship however is something that both parties benefit from. Chrysler gives money to Celine's show to sponsor...and they gain the space or advertisement in the how programs which brings in business to Chrysler. Win/win for both. However, the Drive=Love campaign was a losin situation for Chrysler as they spent so much money on it, and it failed.

 

 

Chrysler and Céline had a feedback relationship between 2003 and 2007: Céline got one of the main sponsors for her show in Vegas, while Chrysler got a face to promote their car firm. The benefit was mutual, although for Chrysler the deal wasn't as profitable as they thought in the end.

 

Yes, but after the campaign failed, their only relationship was a sponsorship arrangement. Not Celine being a celebrity endorser.

 

The Chrysler deal was a flop

 

What went wrong?

"Celine Dion personifies the Chrysler brand slogan," said Jim Schroer, Chrysler's former global sales and marketing chief, when the marketing agreement was announced in November 2002. "This is the kind of branded harmony you dream about."

But sources say Mr. Schroer pushed the deal through --against the advice of his ad agency. BBDO's Detroit office, which handles Chrysler's national advertising, wanted no part of Dion, sources say. Chrysler's strategy was to move the brand upscale by attracting younger, more affluent consumers. But during testing, BBDO's focus groups told Chrysler that Ms. Dion appealed to consumers with an average age of 52.

Mr. Schroer asked for additional BBDO research to justify the ad campaign, a source says.

 

http://adage.com/art...disaster/38897/

 

Thank you so much for posting this. I could. Find anything from when the deal failed.

[ehild]

You also have to remember that this album was not really meant as a major release. It's primary function was to promote Chrysler.

I get that. But still, I feel like it's Celine.....they could've done something to make the album a little better than it was.

[Prima_Donna1]

Not to mean and not in any sort of way, but OH was just a compilation.... That's it! Compilation. I like OH for the pop songs, and probably two of the ballads, but it was just a comp of rejected songs that should have been released in the other album. Edited January 6, 2014 at 06:52 PM by Prima_Donna1

[Javito]

Not to mean and not in any sort of way, but OH was just a compilation.... That's it! Compilation. I like OH for the pop songs, and probably two of the ballads, but it was just a comp of rejected songs that should have been released in the other album.

 

If we ever get a confirmation of this, ANDHC + OH will be the best album she'll have ever released to me!!!

[Jeff Abbott]

If we ever get a confirmation of this, ANDHC + OH will be the best album she'll have ever released to me!!!

strangely enough, I knew you'd say that

[Prima_Donna1]

 

strangely enough, I knew you'd say that

Me too. Very predictable lol.

[LukeD]

This album marks the point where Celine lost credibility as a recording artist. It was the first time another product was promoted with a Celine Dion release, the first time several recycled songs were used in her album, the first time that ballads were used as fillers to balance the up/mid-tempo songs and the very first time in 10 years that a 'Celine Dion release' sold less than 10m copies. The album also brought lowest career reviews. And this is totally understandable. It is a rushed release due to the fact that 'A New Day Has Come' did not stand up to expectations. While the melodies are cute and her vocals on point, the album lacks personality. Celine is hidden behind generic and bland messages, a fact even music critics noted. She could have added her 90s recording for that Pepsi commercial and nobody would have noticed. The material was good for TV adds, below average for a singer of Celine Dion's league. Edited January 7, 2014 at 05:00 PM by LukeD

[Javito]

The album also brought lowest career reviews. And this is totally understandable. It is a rushed release due to the fact that 'A New Day Has Come' did not stand up to expectations.

 

And that, for whom? For Sony Music USA, because it didn't sell what they expected? That cannot be a more biased argument. Only because an album didn't meet the voracious sales that a giant company (whose only goal in the end is to make money) wanted, that doesn't mean that the album "did not stand to expectations" in a broad sense. An economic perspective when it comes review a music album is completely out of place, let's leave that to the economics and the accountants at Sony Music. What's important is the product and its content, and ANDHC was clearly an album that pleased millions of people and the proof is that radios played the songs. Something she has never achieved again after 2003, let alone with the last album

 

Also, I don't know if One Heart was a rushed release or not, but compared to Loved Me Back To Life, for which they had 6 years in the making and it ended up looking like a puzzle album made in 3 months, One Heart seems like the most coherent CD next to LMBTL

Edited January 7, 2014 at 05:22 PM by Javito

[LukeD]

And that, for whom? For Sony Music USA, because it didn't sell what they expected? That cannot be a more biased argument. Only because an album didn't meet the voracious sales that a giant company (whose only goal in the end is to make money) wanted, that doesn't mean that the album "did not stand to expectations" in a broad sense. An economic perspective when it comes review a music album is completely out of place, let's leave that to the economics and the accountants at Sony Music. What's important is the product and its content, and ANDHC was clearly an album that pleased millions of people and the proof is that radios played the songs. Something she has never achieved again after 2003, let alone with the last album

 

Also, I don't know if One Heart was a rushed release or not, but compared to Loved Me Back To Life, for which they had 6 years in the making and it ended up looking like a puzzle album made in 3 months, One Heart seems like the most coherent CD next to LMBTL

As your friend browseceline said (a comment you 'liked' today) this is my opinion! You should not call me out on it calling it 'biased argument'. Bye.

[dmeredith]

I don't care what the sales were, or what the music critics thought, 'cause I like One Heart. I guess I never really think about an album having coherent songs on a particular album. I just like each song for how it sounds or what it says. I never thought about whether the songs on OH were below the standards of how Celine's songs should sound, and what she's capable of. It's fine if others do that, but I'm just merely stating that I like the CD. I never realized that those were aspects to consider when analyzing a CD. I've learned a few things from y'all by being on this forum. I still like the CD regardless of whether it "fits the mold" of a good CD. It's good enough for me and my tastes!

[Javito]

As your friend browseceline said (a comment you 'liked' today) this is my opinion! You should not call me out on it calling it 'biased argument'. Bye.

 

Of course, however in that case, I would like to know where your statement that "ANDHC did not stand up to expectations" comes from. One thing I like about this forum is that we can elaborate our opinions and extend on them as much as we want (something I am aware it has annoyed some in many ocassions, but some others told me they enjoy), so I would really like to know where you get that statement, because its doesn't seem to be your opinion, but a general statement. If it was your opinion you would have said "ANDHC did not stand up MY expectations", or "I don't like that album", which is perfectly ok. But saying the aforementioned is innacurate. I've only heard one source that ever said that about ANDHC, and it was Sony Music USA and from a sales point of view, not judging the quality of this album

 

Edit: nervermind Luke, if that's what you think, it's great, it's what you think. Just saying that I would like to know what you mean when you said that, for whom didn't ANDHC stand up to expectations, if it was for you or for someone else that you were referring.

Edited January 7, 2014 at 06:53 PM by Javito

[LukeD]

Of course, however in that case, I would like to know where your statement that "ANDHC did not stand up to expectations" comes from. One thing I like about this forum is that we can elaborate our opinions and extend on them as much as we want (something I am aware it has annoyed some in many ocassions, but some others told me they enjoy), so I would really like to know where you get that statement, because its doesn't seem to be your opinion, but a general statement. If it was your opinion you would have said "ANDHC did not stand up MY expectations", or "I don't like that album", which is perfectly ok. But saying the aforementioned is innacurate. I've only heard one source that ever said that about ANDHC, and it was Sony Music USA and from a sales point of view, not judging the quality of this album

Inaccurate? See? This is the difference between having an opinion and actually posting a factual statement. The latter can be inaccurate or even invalid. Same way it is an opinion to say you wanted LMBTL to do better on charts, but rather inaccurate to say that Celine has no career outside France. That said, Your_Su_Phu tried to explain to you in the past why ANDHC did not stand up to its commercial expectations (There was also a professional review calling it a 'bomb') and you still stick to what you believe. I have nothing new to add. Besides, you said in your previous comment we should leave this kind of discussions to those who know better (economics and accountants). You go back and forth. Again. I'm bored. Edited January 7, 2014 at 06:58 PM by LukeD

[Javito]

Inaccurate? See? This is the difference between having an opinion and actually posting a factual statement. The latter can be inaccurate or even invalid. Same way it is an opinion to say you wanted LMBTL to do better on charts, but rather inaccurate to say that Celine has no career outside France. That said, Your_Su_Phu tried to explain to you in the past why ANDHC did not stand up to its commercial expectations (There was also a professional review calling it a 'bomb') and you still stick to what you believe. I have nothing new to add. Besides, you said in your previous comment we should leave this kind of discussions to those who know better.

 

Yes, in the USA only, Luke . I did pay attention to that. But USA is not the whole world, and yet ANDHC was a #1 album in more than 17 countries around the world, a success she has never repeated again.

 

And even if ANDHC didn't meet the sales that Sony expected in the US, the song stayed for a record breaking of 21 weeks in the Billboard AC Chart, reached #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and broke the record for the single that spent more weeks at number one on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks Chart. So I don't know to what extense we can say that this album didn't meet the expectations. Because apparently, its only the expectations that the record label had regarding the sales and in one country, which is a very partial datum to measure the level of expectatives that this album had in the PUBLIC, not under Sony Music USA's eye.

 

It's as if I said that Sony USA expected LTAL to sell 30 million copies alone in the US, and since it only sold 8 million copies there (to put an example), the album is a flop and didn't meet expectatives. So what? Does that mean that most of the public that bought those 8 million copies in the US, and the remaining 22 million copies in the world outside the US didn't like that album, and that its not considered one of her greatest albums in her discography? Of course not.

 

And Your_su_phu also said he would come back providing sources of what he said, about the commercial failure in the US. He never came back with them...

 

I'm not sure if I said that Celine "has no career outside France" exactly with those words, but I admit I could exaggerate with that. What is clear is that the list of territories in which she had a market 6 years ago, and especially before 2003, have drastically diminished in the last years

Edited January 7, 2014 at 07:18 PM by Javito

[LukeD]

Yes, in the USA only, Luke . I did pay attention to that. But USA is not the whole world, and yet ANDHC was a #1 album in more than 17 countries around the world, a success she has never repeated again.

 

And Your_su_phu also said he would come back providing sources of what he said, about the commercial failure in the US. He never came back with them...

 

I'm not sure if I said that Celine "has no career outside France" exactly with those words, but I admit I could exaggerate with that. What is clear is that the list of territories in which she had a market 6 years ago, and especially before 2003, have drastically diminished in the last years

Maybe he did not come back because he has an actual life outside this forum? He never said the album was a failure, by the way. He has the exact same point as me, the album was generally a decent seller that sold below what her team expected. Made a powerful debut and then quickly declined. We should clear something out first: The album has not sold 15m copies nor 12m copies, its sales stand at 10.5m according to the site 'Celine Dion Charts And Sales' which is created by Celine fans who are members here. All the figures in this site are based not only on certifications, but even sales that are not certified. Now, if you really think her team expected the album to sell bit more than 9m copies within 2002, I rest my case. Edited January 7, 2014 at 07:13 PM by LukeD

[LukeD]

What is clear is that the list of territories in which she had a market 6 years ago, and especially before 2003, have drastically diminished in the last years

Name one female singer whose selling power remained in tact after they were 35 years old. Even Madonna sold 1/2 of her records during the 80s.

[Javito]

Okay, the difference between me and you about this is that apparently you make depend the quality of an album and the "good" or "bad" veredict on their sales. I've never bought that . Sales has always been to me the least factor to keep into account when it comes to judge if I like an album or not, and with ANDHC, everybody knows that in this forum (modesty aside).

 

I've praised a lot of things of ANDHC, the quality of the songs, the diversity of the styles, the originality of the material, the greatness of the photoshoot, the creativity they put into the whole making of the album... but the sales have never been important to me (even if they were great!). I could have focused on the great figures the album made in Europe, Japan, Australia and many more, both in charts and sales, but that's the coldest aspect of enjoying an album, TO ME. It's the most superficial piece of information to put on the table when you have to consider if you think an album is good or not. Music history is full of records who have sold millions or have reached #1 positions and they are crap. To put an example with another artist of the same scale as Céline: Michael Jackson's "Invincible" album was bashed by critics when it was released in 2001, and today there's a major agreement among his fans that it is his most underrated album, almost every fan agrees that this album is at least as good as "Thriller" or "Bad", if not better than other previous albums which sold much more. Who is right, who is wrong? Probably nobody, but fans are judging from an artistic point of view, they are judging what they listen and the product as a whole, not the sales or how good it did in charts. Tabloids and music editors love to focus on charts and sales, but they frequently fail to concentrate on the music alone.

 

I've never been a regular in the "Charts and sales thread", you see. Because I don't care what they say. I know they're important, but they don't have the last word, not at all. "Falling Into You" is one of her biggest selling albums, but it lacks originality and creativity in every corner. And TO ME, in an album, those are features for which I stand much more than if it has sold more or less in an specific country. That does not mean much to me, it never did...

Edited January 7, 2014 at 07:42 PM by Javito

[LukeD]

Yeah. I never judged ANDHC based on its sales or critical reception. I love the album, second favorite English album after LTAL. I look the sales facts objectively though.

[Javito]

Name one female singer whose selling power remained in tact after they were 35 years old. Even Madonna sold 1/2 of her records during the 80s.

 

There's none, sales affected everyone in this business, I know that. But not with radios. Madonna has still her "radio powers" intact in most countries, and she probably will with her next album, because she knows how to offer something different each time, and to remain current for the public. And more importantly, that freshness has been translated into each tour she has done, something Céline didn't learn to do. She has been repeating herself in tours invariably since 1997. If you have a new album, you have to sing it when you do a concert, and despite Celine had new albums in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007, and despite she spent 5 years doing a show in which she could have performed the ANDHC, OH and TC albums from track 1 to last one each year, she spent those years singing most of her hits pre 00's to exhaustion each night. And each show, tour and special concert she did between 2003 and 2012, either it looked like a copycat of her LTAL or FIY tour, done 10 years ago, or when she goes out from Vegas to give a special concert, it is yet another copycat of her Vegas show, instead of taking that chance to do something different. Yes she included some new songs of her own here and there during "A New Day" and "Celine", but the lesser and forced, because she had a new single and had to sing it "obligatory" in the show. Other than that... it is a miracle if we got to see songs that have not been singles included in her shows all these years. I can only think of "Seduces Me". One unique song in like 1,000 concerts she's done since 2003. And it was not even "new", because she already performed it during the FIY tour.

 

Will "Breakaway", "Thankful" or "Didn't Know Love" share the same luck, and see how she wears down till boredom "Loved Me Back To Life" until 2019, only because this song was the lead single of an album? It's been always the same process, they never change it...

Edited January 7, 2014 at 08:09 PM by Javito

[LukeD]

There's none, sales affected everyone in this business, I know that. But not with radios. Madonna has still her "radio powers" intact in most countries, and she probably will with her next album, because she knows how to offer something different each time, and to remain current for the public. And that freshness has been translated into each tour she has done, something Céline didn't learn to do. She has been repeating herself in tours invariably since 1997. If you have a new album, you have to sing it when you do a concert, and despite Celine had new albums in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007, each tour she did it looked like a copycat of her LTAL or FIY tour, done 10 years ago, with the exception of 4-5 new songs picked from her new albums. Yes she included some new songs here and there, but the lesser and with the minimum effort.

Since there is none you have no real point. And Celine, in general, is still a stable album and ticket seller. Her tours are not similar either, except for the fact that her big hits are there.

[Javito]

Yes, but sales are one thing and the position you get in charts is other, as far as I know. You may see your sales decline, like everyone else in the business, but not your position in charts. And Céline did, and so badly, to the point that her singles don't even enter the charts in some countries today. Something unthinkable in Madonna's case. She (for better or worse) has still her new singles played everywhere and charting, with more or less luck, and when she releases a new single its still quite an event, no matter if she sells more or less than before And Madonna is older than Céline... Edited January 7, 2014 at 08:27 PM by Javito

[ehild]

Okay, the difference between me and you about this is that apparently you make depend the quality of an album and the "good" or "bad" veredict on their sales. I've never bought that . Sales has always been to me the least factor to keep into account when it comes to judge if I like an album or not, and with ANDHC, everybody knows that in this forum (modesty aside).

 

I've praised a lot of things of ANDHC, the quality of the songs, the diversity of the styles, the originality of the material, the greatness of the photoshoot, the creativity they put into the whole making of the album... but the sales have never been important to me (even if they were great!). I could have focused on the great figures the album made in Europe, Japan, Australia and many more, both in charts and sales, but that's the coldest aspect of enjoying an album, TO ME. It's the most superficial piece of information to put on the table when you have to consider if you think an album is good or not. Music history is full of records who have sold millions or have reached #1 positions and they are crap. To put an example with another artist of the same scale as Céline: Michael Jackson's "Invincible" album was bashed by critics when it was released in 2001, and today there's a major agreement among his fans that it is his most underrated album, almost every fan agrees that this album is at least as good as "Thriller" or "Bad", if not better than other previous albums which sold much more. Who is right, who is wrong? Probably nobody, but fans are judging from an artistic point of view, they are judging what they listen and the product as a whole, not the sales or how good it did in charts. Tabloids and music editors love to focus on charts and sales, but they frequently fail to concentrate on the music alone.

 

I've never been a regular in the "Charts and sales thread", you see. Because I don't care what they say. I know they're important, but they don't have the last word, not at all. "Falling Into You" is one of her biggest selling albums, but it lacks originality and creativity in every corner. And TO ME, in an album, those are features for which I stand much more than if it has sold more or less in an specific country. That does not mean much to me, it never did...

I'm with you on this one. I've never really judged an album on its' sales. I've been disappointed by the sales, sure. There's definitely some I feel should have/could have done a lot better than they did but I also don't think that because they didn't necessarily produce the #'s everyone hoped for that it means the album was a failure. I love hearing new material and it's kinda funny to me that some of Celine's albums do better than others, particularly ones that were just "ok" as far as a Celine album is concerned (generally speaking & I realize that's subjective as well).

 

I also know what you were saying about originality and new material on tours. While she has had some new songs incorporated, a good majority of a lot of her concerts since the 90's have been songs mainly from that era. She's come out with a lot of good stuff since she took that first hiatus to have RC but a lot of it just hasn't been incorporated into her concerts. Sure, I love a lot of her older material but I also feel like she needs to sing more from the most current album when she tours; particularly if that tour is for that album. I'm not sure what's going on or why it is that way but something has to give. I do also realize it's hard for them to confine a 30 year career into a 2 hour concert so I don't have an easy explanation other than there will always be some of us that will be disappointed........

[Javito]

I do also realize it's hard for them to confine a 30 year career into a 2 hour concert so I don't have an easy explanation other than there will always be some of us that will be disappointed........

 

Solution? Easy. She has had a concert hall of her own for 5 years in which she has done already over 1,000 performances, and counting, until 2019 (at least ). Do special "fan concerts" each month or at least one per trimester or two per year and sing ONLY songs of your discography that you have never performed before, or that never have been singles in radio. Make a poll in your official site with a list of songs consisting only of songs she has rarely/never performed before in her career. Announce and advertise that special date of "fan concert" in your website, so fans can book their seats for that special date with due time. Create anticipation. I'm sure that day she will have the colosseum sold out. Then film it, and release that concert, for the enjoyement of every fan worldwide. Fans (and public) will be happy! Its a win/win situation

 

1 or 2 day per year that she doesn't sing the same old, boring setlist, would it be that hard to do? Would it be the end of the world? I don't think so. But for Céline, this seems an impossible. In fact, its as if we're asking "water from the moon" LOL.

Edited January 7, 2014 at 10:49 PM by Javito

[Neddo]

One Heart wasn't promoted at all. It's a gift for fans. Celine could have made One Heart without rejects if she had time. It was mixed with critics not negative. New songs recorded in late '02 are great and Naked haves one of best notes she ever recorded. Damn, that song haves more vocal range than lmbtl lol.

One Heart should have been EP with tracks 1 to 7 and Reveal. Great EP.

[Javito]

Naked... vocal range... I forgot about the versatility she showed with her voice in this song

[LukeD]

One Heart wasn't promoted at all. It's a gift for fans. Celine could have made One Heart without rejects if she had time. It was mixed with critics not negative. New songs recorded in late '02 are great and Naked haves one of best notes she ever recorded. Damn, that song haves more vocal range than lmbtl lol.

One Heart should have been EP with tracks 1 to 7 and Reveal. Great EP.

The high belted note in 'Naked' sounds like a falsetto note because it is overmixed. There is nothing admiring about it from a technical standpoint. It is a mistake. Edited January 7, 2014 at 11:42 PM by LukeD