“Reads Like A White Boy Wrote It”: Shaquille O’Neal Wasn’t Impressed With Big Chicken CEO’s Ad Scripts

One record Shaquille O’Neal has achieved after retiring from the NBA is having the most number of commercials under his belt. From endorsing General Insurance to showing off new pizzas at Papa John’s, fans have loved him for the aura he carries and the ability to pull off almost anything on TV. But when it came to doing commercials for Big Chicken, the Lakers legend wasn’t quite sold after reading the script.

On the Room for Seconds podcast with Gregg Majewski, Big Chicken’s CEO, Josh Halpern shared his experience working with The Big Aristotle. Having worked with him previously before, Shaq and Josh share a good relationship.

However, the four-time NBA champion wasn’t impressed after reading Halpern’s latest creative idea, specifically 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 you to talk about.’ You do you. Just be yourself… I used to write copy for him to read stuff and he’d be like, ‘Man, this read like a whiteboy wrote it.’”

Apart from his aversion to Halpern’s scripts, O’Neal had a knack for the Burlesque. The Big Aristotle is known for his quick and witty responses which make him great at improv. And that is one reason why Josh didn’t write a script this time and wanted Shaq to just be himself.

Why Josh involved ‘Diesel’ in his venture?

Before diving into his experience writing scripts and working on commercials with Shaq, Josh dove into his involvement as a business executive. The Hall of Famer’s career earnings from the NBA were a little shy of $300 million.

But since retiring, the 52-year-old has only made sound and diligent decisions when it comes to investing his money, leading him to amass a net worth of over $500 million now. So, it was a no-brainer for Halpern to not only bring in Sjaq for ads and commercials but also have him as a business partner.  

“Remember Shaquille is a franchisee of 155 locations of various systems. He was in Five Guys, Papa John’s, Krispy Kreme, and some gyms, right? And he wanted to help people create wealth. And he wanted to build a legacy.”

Josh mentioned working with not just Shaq but his mother, Lucille, as well. The mother-son duo were more interested in helping people leave their legacy behind, which is what they wake up to do every morning.

And in today’s day and age, finding someone who still has morals and ethics in business is a hard quality to find. But having someone like Shaq, who has a massive fan following and his experience in the business venture, made that decision all the easier for Josh.