One record Shaquille O’Neal set after retiring from the NBA is the number of commercials he has done. Whether it’s promoting General Insurance or showing off new pizzas at Papa John’s, fans love him for his aura and ability to get almost anything across on television. However, when it came to shooting commercials for Big Chicken, the Lakers legend wasn’t entirely convinced after reading the script.
In the room for seconds Podcast with Gregg Majewski, CEO of Big Chicken, Josh Halpern shared his experiences working with The great AristotleSince Shaq and Josh have worked with him before, there is a good relationship between them.
However, the four-time NBA champion was not impressed after reading Halpern’s latest creative idea, especially the script for Big Chicken’s latest commercial.
“He asked us, ‘Where’s the script?’ And we said, ‘No script.’ ‘So what do you mean, ‘no script?’ ‘We’ll tell you what we want to talk to you about.’ Do that. Just be yourself… I always wrote lines for him that he could read, and he was like, ‘Man, that reads like a white guy wrote it.'”
Despite his dislike of Halpern’s scripts, O’Neal had a knack for burlesque. The great Aristotle is known for his quick and witty reactions, which make him a great improviser. And that’s one of the reasons why Josh didn’t write a script this time and wanted Shaq to just be himself.
Why did Josh include “Diesel” in his plan?
Before gaining experience as a screenwriter and commercial writer with Shaq, Josh dedicated himself to running a business. The Hall of Famer’s career earnings in the NBA were just under $300 million.
But since his retirement, the 52-year-old has made sensible and careful investment decisions, which has led to him now amassing a net worth of over $500 million. So it was a no-brainer for Halpern to not only hire Sjaq for ads and commercials, but also to bring him on as a business partner.
“Remember, Shaquille is a franchisee of 155 locations of different systems. He was at Five Guys, Papa John’s, Krispy Kreme and some gyms, right? And he wanted to help people build wealth. And he wanted to build a legacy.”
Josh mentioned that he worked with not only Shaq but also his mother, Lucille. The mother-son duo were more interested in helping people leave their legacy and that’s exactly what they do every morning.
And these days, it’s hard to find someone who still has morals and ethics in business. But having someone like Shaq there with a huge fan base and his experience in business made the decision all the easier for Josh.