One of the Big Man’s biggest investments is with Papa John’s Pizza. Shaq is on the Board of Directors, and he owns several of the company’s franchise outlets in the Atlanta area. (One of those locations – near the Georgia Tech campus downtown – recently has a grand re-opening. Stay tuned to ShaqFu Radio for more on that big event.)
Recently, we even saw an insider video, taken by Shaq himself, at the company’s Board meeting. Apparently one of the business moves to come out of that meeting was a decision by Papa John’s management to make a change in the creative / advertising agency that handles the pizza chain’s account.
It’s been just a little more than a year for the current company – Endeavor Global Marketing – that’s been handling the Papa Johns’ account. Now Endeavor is being replaced by creative agency Camp + King, Inc. The new agency is based in San Francisco, and is best known for a remake and upgrade to the super-popular “Energizer Bunny” battery commercials. The company has also done ads for popular brands such as Re/Max Realty, Amazon, Dish Network and others.
Camp + King is already hard at work on a new campaign for Papa John’s that will start this fall… featuring our favorite pizza-loving NBA superstar, Shaquille O’Neal. (Probably doesn’t hurt that Shaq is on the Board of Directors, too.)
Papa John’s Global Chief Marketing Officer Karlin Lindhardt released a statement saying, “We wanted a creative team who could showcase Shaquille’s unique, authentic relationship with the Papa John’s brand.” He liked Camp + King for the “energy and insights they brought in their creative concepts, and look forward to debuting an exciting new campaign this fall.”
On the Camp + King side, Chicago office Managing Director Kristin Barbour will be in charge of the new account. In a statement, Barbour said, “Papa John’s has always been a leader in quality. As a personality who is larger than life, Shaquille sets a natural path for the brand to touch the hearts and minds of its customers. That’s what pizza is all about—bringing people together over fun,” Barbour wrote in a statement.
You can see more about Shaq’s relationship with Papa Johns’ in other posts here on the ShaqFu Radio blog. While attending the company’s Board meeting, Shaq posted a “pirate” behind-the-scenes video, including some shots of a new product that may be introduced soon. (Insider note: it looked like a calzone, but with a Papa John’s branded name, of course!)
To see that previous post (and insider video), click here.