O’Neal, Pepsi reunite for Pepsi mini cans commercial

In continuation of its 125 years anniversary, Pepsico has unveiled Shaquille O’Neal, Former NBA star as brand ambassador for its 7.5 ounce Pepsi mini can. O’Neal has worked with Pepsi on a series of ads during the height of his playing career in the ‘90s.

In the new spot, Shaq wished he was “a little bit smaller” when faced with the everyday perils of his larger-than-life size, to celebrate that Pepsi Mini Cans are always the right size.

One theme of Shaq’s past work with Pepsi was the practical difficulties that come with being over seven feet tall, as illustrated in 1994’s “It’s Not Easy Being Big” spot promoting the one-liter Pepsi Big Slam.

Now that the trend of super-sizing beverage sizes has reversed, Pepsi turned to the baller once again to promote its 7.5 ounce Pepsi Mini cans, in “I Wish,” while inverting the message of a classic hip hop line.

Todd Kaplan, Pepsi CMO, explained in a statement that: “Pepsi and Shaq have a storied history with one another that has inspired a number of the creative elements within this new Pepsi Mini Cans campaign. We were also able to tap into ’90s nostalgia with Skee-Lo’s iconic ‘I Wish,’ while completely reimagining the track for today given the evolution we are seeing in consumer demand for smaller sized packages.”