Krispy Kreme
A partnership that has been years in the making has finally become a reality — Shaquille O’Neal is now an owner of a Krispy Kreme Doughnuts franchise and will act as a spokesman for the brand.
Shaq has had an obsession with Krispy Kremes for a long time and you have to at least appreciate his love for doughnuts.
The press release from the company says Shaq will “take ownership” of a “historic” store in Atlanta, so it’s hard to say if he’s putting any money into this endeavor and if anyone knows the definition of historic. It’s a doughnut store, not the site of a Civil War battle. It looks like this is yet another brand that will give Shaq money to sell their product, and while Shaq’s heart is clearly into these doughnuts, it’s yet another endorsement deal for a guy who made so … much … money in his career.
Sports Illustrated last year ran a list of the top 50 (FIFTY!) product endorsements Shaq has done and it is already outdated because of his work with The General, an auto insurance company that I’m not entirely sure is real based on their ads. Shaq earned nearly $300 million in his NBA career, so unless he went broke as the sole funder of Jupiter Ascending, he has to still have a lot of money, which makes all these endorsements so wild. There’s no way he needs this cash.
Having said that, if you give me $10, I’ll endorse anything. It can be harmful to kids, puppies, and the atmosphere, but if it pays for my lunch, I’m there for you, corporations.