Basketball Hall of Famer and current TNT commentator Shaquille O’Neal is extending his business to the advertising world.
The Wall Street Journal reports that O’Neal is a founding partner and investor in a new ad agency named The Majority Agency, which is focused on serving up talent from diverse backgrounds.
“Most agencies still struggle to meet a 25% diversity target. We want to flip that diversity ratio to turn the minority into the majority,” O’Neal told The WSJ.
The Majority Agency is planning to bring aboard a diverse pool of talent that is defined by “black and brown people, women and LGBTQ,” Omid Farhang, co-founder, and chief executive of Majority said. “The goal for our
company is to show how creative output changes when you flip that ratio,” Farhang said. “It’s as much about social equity as a shrewd business decision. Diversity is a competitive advantage. Diversity leads to different kinds of ideas that create different types of cultural discussions.”A description of the new company, as seen on The Majority Agency website:
The agency is based in Atlanta, where O’Neal currently spends much of his time. They anticipate obtaining and sourcing talent in the area due to the city’s thriving Black middle class.
Most recently, Farhang was Chief Creative Officer at Interpublic Group of Cos. experiential agency Momentum Worldwide. He previously worked at the talent agency Creative Artists Agency and creative agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky.