Shaq named CFO 'Chief Fun Officer' at Carnival Cruise Lines
Did you see that mountain of a man, Shaquille O’Neal, at CES? The NBA Hall of Famer,TNT commentator and now pitchman was scurrying around making appearances, but just one of his CES announcements made sense to me.
Shaq is joining Carnival Cruise Line as their newly appointed “CFO.”
The announcement was made with a tongue-in-cheek video that features Shaq and Carnival President Christine Duffy but omits one minor detail: CFO stands for “Chief Fun Officer,” personifying the cruise line’s newest brand campaign, “Choose Fun,” which launched earlier this week.
As the newly appointed “CFO,” O’Neal has partnered with the cruise line, lending his fun, larger-than-life personality and playful spirit to inspire America to Choose Fun with Carnival when planning their next vacation, and in their everyday lives.
Shaq’s role will be brought to life via engaging digital and video content, social media and experiential activations, beginning now!
“We are very excited to have Shaq as part of the Carnival team! He will serve as a great ambassador ensuring everyone knows all about our one-of-a-kind brand of fun,” said Duffy. “We’re confident that his embodiment of our brand values will inspire America to Choose Fun and discover the authentic, participatory and social atmosphere that Carnival offers.”
Nobody likes to have more fun than Shaq.
"I was always told during my days with the Miami Heat to go take a cruise," O'Neal told me in a pre-CES interview. "In Miami, I used to live right across from the cruise ships. From the outside you see a big ship and a lot of windows. I used to think cruising was a bunch of people crammed on a ship. So I decided I wanted to go on a cruise. First of all, with Carnival the prices are amazing and when I got on the ship, it was like. wow!"
Carnival Cruise Line is the largest brand in the Carnival Corporation portfolio with a fleet of 25 ships designed to deliver fun and memorable vacation experiences at a great value. It is the world’s most popular cruise line carrying five million guests a year and catering to a wide consumer demographic, appealing to families, couples, singles and seniors. Carnival carries more children and military personnel than any other cruise line. In spring 2018, the 133,500-ton Carnival Horizon will debut as the 26th ship in the fleet. For additional information and reservations, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit http://carnival.com.