Basinger will appear in a Diet Coke TV commercial breaking next week to coincide with the brand's biggest ever on-pack promotion. It offers consumers the chance to win all-expenses paid trips to West End film premieres.
It is the first time the brand, whose most successful ad icon was the Diet Coke hunk, has used a celebrity in its ads. Basinger, 49, complains in the commercial that she had to accept bit parts to achieve the lifestyle of a star, rather than entering a competition.
Basinger's most recent success was in the Eminem film '8 Mile'. She won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the 1998 hit 'LA Confidential'.
Diet Coke, the UK's second-biggest selling soft drink, grew sales volumes by 8% in 2002, according to ACNielsen.
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