The life of a celebrity and their family is often an intriguing topic for conversation. The lack of privacy and the visibility has often been touted as tough to deal with. Over time, a large majority of celebrities have raised their concern about the lack of privacy in their lives and how it even extends unfairly to their families.
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Living a perceivedly “normal” lifestyle therefore isn’t really an option for most celebrities. To embrace your celebrity or not is the choice one has to make under such a circumstance.
And if there is a celebrity who has embraced his visibility and lived life as a larger-than-life (quite literally) celebrity, it is Shaquille O’Neal. There’s DJ Diesel, there’s Kazaam and there are the multitudes of endorsements that O’Neal regularly engages in. And when that isn’t the case, there is also Turner Sports and Inside the NBA to get us a glimpse of the big man.
Shaq has therefore cemented himself as one of the most recognisable faces in all of basketball. It is highly unlikely that an average American goes a week without seeing O’Neal’s face at least once during their daily routine.
So, how does his family deal with seeing Shaq everywhere? Well, to his daughters Mimi and Me’Arah, it certainly is “kind of weird”.
Also read: “I Like Taahirah And My Daughters More Than My Sons”: Shaquille O’Neal On How He Views His Children
Shaq’s daughters described his advertising features as “funny” and “weird”.
Being one of the most entertaining and recognisable figures in the game, O’Neal has been identified by many a brand as their marketing face. As a smart businessman who was also intrigued by acting, Big Diesel seems to have made the most of his celebrity in this regard too.
Ads featuring Superman were extremely commonplace and typically unmissable. So, it isn’t a surprise that his daughters Mimi and Me’Arah find it “weird” to see their father all around them.
The up-and-coming basketball duo were keen to point out their favorite advertisement that features Shaq though. Unsurprisingly, that honor went to O’Neal’s iconic ‘Gold Bond’ TV commercial. Me’Arah went as much as calling it the “best commercial ever”.
While Mimi’s concerns were limited to seeing their father’s advertisements while in public, Me’Arah pointed out how it still is weird even in her private space. Watching someone who is a part of her household so frequently on television is probably what’s “weird” for Me’Arah.
Shaq’s marketing prowess seems to be unrestricted by the dimensions of televisions too. According to Charles Barkley, Superman is a shameless plug for the products he endorses, even in real life.
Shaquille O’Neal allegedly gifts only products that are endorsed by him.
Recently on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Chuck was asked about the gifting relationship on Inside the NBA. Without even giving it thought, Barkley responded, calling the Big Diesel out.
In Chuck’s words, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and himself are considerate friends who pick out gifts for each other on occasions. Of the crew, Shaq was omitted from this list. The reason being merely the fact that his gifts are exclusively products endorsed by O’Neal himself.
Shaq’s work family seems irate at his gifting patterns linked to his endorsement deals. Mimi and Ma’Arah are already “weird”ed out by their famous father’s advertisements. A birthday gift which turns out to be a Big Diesel endorsed product might just be their breaking point.
Regardless, they may not have a lot of reasons to complain about the endorsements otherwise. At the end of the day, they have earned their father a fortune. O’Neal is worth over $450 million, and that figure wouldn’t be anywhere near that without endorsements.
