Why Pepsi brought back its biggest spokesman to promote its smallest drink

Pepsi’s latest campaign is for all the short kings out there, even though it stars Shaquille O’Neal.

As part of an ongoing 125th anniversary celebration, the soft-drink brand is taking a look back at some of the most significant moments in its history. That includes partnerships with big celebrities, and Shaq, “quite literally,” is one of the biggest, CMO Todd Kaplan told Marketing Brew.

The product Shaq is promoting now, though, is anything but. While the new campaign, which rolled out Monday, is inspired by Pepsi’s “Big Slam” campaign with Shaq from 1994, this time around, the former basketball star serves as the face of Pepsi’s 7.5-ounce mini cans.

Blast from the past: Shaq was “the face of our brand” for several campaigns in the ’90s, Kaplan told us, and while Pepsi has worked with Shaq in various capacities in the decades since, the mini-cans ad marks the first time he’s done a TV commercial with the brand in the 21st century. It’s called “I Wish,” named after rapper Skee-Lo’s hit song from 1995 that’s recently seen something of a renaissance on TikTok. An updated version of the song serves as the track for the ad, and Skee-Lo himself makes a cameo at the end of the spot.

The original song starts with the lyrics, “I wish I was a little bit taller,” but in the new version, Skee-Lo sings, “I wish I was a little bit smaller.” The rest of the lyrics also have to do with “the hardships of being such a tall person in a small man’s world,” Kaplan said. The ad is accompanied by visuals of Shaq in those scenarios, like not having enough room in an airplane seat—a throwback to the visuals featured in the original “Big Slam” ad.

The ad campaign includes 60- and 30-second spots, which will air against “high-visibility” moments on TV, including some NBA games and Thanksgiving NFL games, as well as a long-form version available to watch online, Kaplan said. There’s also a social media giveaway that fans can enter to win an official NBA basketball signed by Shaq.

The spots are scheduled to continue running through the end of the year.

Let’s get together: The “I Wish” ad wasn’t designed with a traditional target demographic like gender or generation in mind, Kaplan told us. Instead, Pepsi was focused on connecting with consumers who’ve gotten back to socializing in larger groups, he said, which is when they tend to reach for smaller products.

“Times have changed a little bit, where bigger isn’t always better,” Kaplan said. “Actually, consumers today are looking for smaller packaging to enjoy their cola through everyday, snackable moments, a lot of times in these group gatherings.”

The business of mini-cans among soft-drink makers has been booming in recent years, and small-can offerings have boosted sales for both PepsiCo and rival Coca-Cola in recent years. Pepsi’s 10-pack of mini cans is the brand’s fastest-growing pack in terms of sales, according to Kaplan.

“It’s something we really want to lean into,” he said.

Everyman brand: Shaq is certainly no stranger to brand deals, having appeared in ads for Subway, Icy Hot, Frosted Flakes, American Express, and many more. He also owns a number of franchises and is a major shareholder in Authentic Brands Group. Even though he’s associated with dozens of other companies, Kaplan said it’s because Shaq is a “great brand ambassador”—and his deep association with the brand means he’s still a perfect fit.

“Unlike a number of the other ones, he has been with Pepsi since the ’90s,” Kaplan said. “He’s a Pepsi guy.”