Shaquille O’Neal is advertising Big Chicken Shaq’s limited time only offering – the Frosted Flakes Milkshake. If things had gone differently, that would’ve been the Wheaties shake. But endorsement machine Shaq is strict about what he puts his name on. The giant is a picky eater and doesn’t change his tastes easily. That led to him picking Tony the Tiger over the ‘Breakfast of Champions.’ He’d have a brief appearance on a Wheaties box, but he’d remain loyal to Frosted Flakes even through Big Chicken.

Making it on a cereal box is the crown jewel of endorsements. Shaq shockingly turned down the first few opportunities. Instead, he waited patiently for a decade after his retirement to fulfill his dream with a brand he loved.

Shaquille O’Neal’s ‘frosty’ advertising principles

Shaquille O’Neal can confidently say he puts his money where his mouth is. “People look at them as endorsements. I look at them as partnerships,” O’Neal said at a business conference. All of Shaq’s continuing endorsements – Krispy Kreme, Papa John’s, IcyHot, and more – are brands he patronized well before inking deals with them. “I’m very picky. If I’m not in tune to the product, if I don’t like the product, I won’t do it.”

It was a factor when it came to picking between cereal endorsements. The Big Chicken Shaq promotion brought back the Shaq-lore behind his favorite cereal. “I always tell the story about after I won my first championship. Wheaties wanted me to be on the cover. Never ate Wheaties so I turned them down. Second championship, same thing. I said, ‘Hey, Breakfast of Champions, I know who you are, but I never eat Wheaties, I can’t do it.’ Then I told my people, call Frosted Flakes or Fruit Loops, I’ll be on the cover of that.”

The century-old Wheaties built its empire with athlete testimonials to emphasize that it is indeed the ‘Breakfast of Champions.’ O’Neal though never developed a taste for it, once claiming,  “I’m from the hood, I don’t know what Wheaties tastes like. I can’t do it.” Before and after championships, his taste didn’t change.

While he turned General Mills down after three consecutive titles with the Lakers, he agreed after his fourth championship. Shaq joined Dwyane Wade in their Miami Heat uniforms on the Wheaties box, which is now a premium collectible. But he remained a loyal customer of Kellogg’s. And after retiring in 2011, he got to work with Tony the Tiger a decade later.

Shaq’s Frosted Flakes love takes over Big Chicken

In 2021, Big Diesel said, “It’s no secret I love Tony the Tiger, and having my own Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes cereal has been a lifelong dream.” That was when he became the face on the box of the limited edition Frosted Flakes with Crispy Cinnamon Basketballs for the whole year. Fans also got their hands on Shaq’s autograph with the first boxes and this too joined the cereal box collectible hall of fame.

It was the first time Tony the Tiger collaborated with a star athlete. Shaq filmed commercials for the cereal and slipped in a mention on The Big Podcast every chance he got. It’s extra special as the Shaq and Kellogg’s collaborated for Mission Tiger, the cereal giant’s philanthropic initiative to bring sports facilities to schools across the nation.

And his love for the cereal spilled on to Big Chicken too. One of the founding partners of JRS Hospitality and Big Chicken, Chef Matthew Silverman knows best how Shaq’s brand policy defined their restaurant’s menu. Big Chicken is already based on Shaq’s love for the chicken sandwich, his mom’s cooking, and the ’70s. Apart from the Cheez-it crusted Mac-and-Cheese (a Lucille O’Neal original), the Frosted Flakes milkshake is a Shaq fave.

“He loves Frosted Flakes, like loves them,” said Chef Silverman. “That’s not a joke, he eats them all the time.” So the chef and his team had to make a dish out of it.

This shake has always been a limited edition offering on the Big Chicken menu. It’s been back since the opening of the new Dallas-Fort Worth location this month. Its biggest fan leaves no opportunity to promote it. After all, he worked really hard to earn this partnership.