Shaquille O’Neal recently extended his series of brand collaborations through the latest partnership with Home Depot. Ahead of NCAA March Madness, Diesel created multiple ‘educational’ videos with the organization as part of their initiative. It captured an unknown side of the 52-year-old’s character while keeping the unpredictability in his actions intact.
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On 12th March, Home Depot publicly announced its partnership with March Madness as their official home improvement partner. As part of their marketing campaign, they highlighted the involvement of Shaq in promoting their appliances. Consequently, it also paved the way for the series, ‘Tips from the Tool Shaq‘, to provide a set of guidelines for customers under the theme of basketball.
Hence, the content surfaced on YouTube recently with the 4x champion serving as the center of attention. In one such clip titled “How to Protect the Paint”, the New Jersey-born was seen mopping the paint area of the basketball court. While a Home Depot representative elaborated on the intention behind her action, Shaq had a different priority, stating, “I’m trying not to get three seconds in the paint”.
In another video, titled “How to Clean the Glass”, Diesel climbed on a ladder to clean the glass of the backboard. “You gotta be real careful with these things. They shatter very easily,” he mentioned while gently cleaning the glass.
One more clip titled “How to Pick the Right Team” elaborated on the elements of selecting proper personalities for a task. In that video, the 2000 MVP selected a member for his squad after conducting a strength and weakness analysis with his team members.
From the theme to the dialogues, the entire presentation contained elements of Shaq’s endeavors from his playing days. Thus, the content, in a way, paid tribute to the 19-year-long journey of the 7ft 1″ maestro. At the same time, the videos elaborated on the execution uniquely, gauging the attention of the viewers. And of course, no Shaq commercial would be complete without some humor peppered in. And sure enough, it is hard not to chuckle to oneself while watching O’Neal be witty while referencing his NBA career.
The unanticipated collaboration sustains between Shaquille O’Neal and Home Depot
The parties shared a history previously as Shaq’s appearance in one of the Home Depot stores made headlines last year. In June 2023, the sports analyst unexpectedly helped out a family of strangers during his visit. He offered to pay for their washer and dryer while spending quality time with the store’s customers.
However, his involvement with Home Depot has not always been this straightforward. When one of their employees, Ariana Josephine, faced criticism regarding her comments on s*x work, Shaq openly supported her. He texted her on Instagram to display his backing with an underlying tone of mockery.
The direct messages later surfaced publicly as the employee uploaded the screenshots on her story. As revealed by Legion Hoops on X (formerly Twitter), the NBA icon told her, “Don’t let them people bother u…Don’t read the comments stuff like that will drive you crazy…Have a great day tell all your boyfriends I said hello lol”.
Therefore, considering the history, the partnership seemed like a reasonable choice. After all, the Big Aristotle has already established his status as a unique contributor to the promotion of basketball.
