Shaquille O'Neal and partners JRS Hospitality and Authentic Brands have mapped an aggressive growth plan for Shaq's Big Chicken, a concept created by the basketball star in 2018. The chain has started a new franchising program and plans to grow with brick-and-mortar locations as well as ghost kitchens, including as many as 80 opening inside Walmart stores.

Laundry Service created a short humorous film for Wynn Resorts' WynnBET betting app that's directed by and stars Ben Affleck with Shaquille O'Neal and actor Melvin Gregg. The video shows Affleck and Gregg go to a Wynn casino and hook up with Shaq and other customers to spotlight the app's social features that enable users to play and bet together.

Shaquille O'Neal has teamed with former Momentum Worldwide executive Omid Farhang to launch an Atlanta-based agency named Majority, which aims to build a team comprising at least 75% women, LGBTQ+ and people of color. "We strive to make the minority the majority, not just for a more equitable world, but because we actually believe that diversity is a competitive advantage and leads to more disruptive creativity," Farhang says.

Camp + King is touting Papa John's new Shaq-a-Roni pizza with a 60-second spot that features board member Shaquille O'Neal surprising Atlanta families in their homes via Zoom from a screen placed inside pizza boxes. The brand is donating $1 to its Foundation for Building Community for every purchase and a special Shaq pizza box unlocks an augmented reality experience on Snapchat.

Retired basketball star Shaquille O'Neal will lend his gravitas to a marketing campaign being helmed by Turner network TNT in advance of the NBA season. TV spots to debut this week will feature Shaq, who has recently signed on to the network's NBA broadcast, in a campaign that also will be especially heavy on digital and social media this year. Print ads and in-store promotions will round out the effort.