Shaq, Olajuwon Will Meet Again--in Latest Taco Bell Campaign

In an effort to bolster sales, Taco Bell Corp. is running full-page ads in several national newspapers this week that seek to capitalize on the rivalry between basketball stars Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O’Neal.

The company’s name did not appear in the first ad, which ran Monday, apparently in an effort to build up interest in commercial sequels scheduled to run soon.

But the president of Olajuwon’s marketing company said the Houston star will appear soon with O’Neal in a television spot for Taco Bell, an Irvine-based Mexican food franchiser owned by PepsiCo Inc.

The first ad featured a note from O’Neal challenging Olajuwon to a one-on-one game.

The players faced each other in the NBA championship series earlier this month, when Olajuwon’s Houston Rockets swept O’Neal’s Orlando Magic in four games.

In the letter, O’Neal challenges Olajuwon to a follow-up match. “Sure, you’re pretty good with your team behind you, but I want you one on one,” the type-written message reads.

Executives at Taco Bell declined to comment on whether the company planned to sponsor the two players in an actual competition, or whether they would only be featured in a scripted television advertisement.

Advertising analysts said the company has already succeeded in drawing attention to its product by luring the two stars and leaving the company’s name off the ads.

“This isn’t about basketball, this is about getting media attention,” said Jeffrey Pollack, publisher of Sports Business Daily in Alexandria, Va. “The ads have already paid for themselves, with a lot of newspapers writing about them, and it’s created a great buzz on Madison Avenue.”

The campaign is the second major advertising effort this year by Taco Bell. In February, the company launched a campaign tied to the introduction of a low-fat, reduced-calorie line called “Border Lights.”

The campaign featuring the two basketball stars probably is aimed at Taco Bell’s traditional consumers, said Emanuel Goldman, an analyst for the San Francisco office of brokerage PaineWebber Inc.

“I think they are probably looking to put a heavy focus on their core customer,” Goldman said. “Pepsi has historically been a master at using celebrities effectively, so I think this is them continuing to do what they’re good at.”

The two ad campaigns come as Taco Bell is trying to regain its sales momentum. In the first quarter this year, Taco Bell’s profit fell 5% compared with a year earlier. Average sales in each store were also down slightly.

For his part, Olajuwon is trying to build a relationship with PepsiCo that would go beyond specific product endorsements and might include owning Pepsi bottling franchises, said Frank Vuono, president of Integrated Sports International, an East Rutherford, N.J., sports marketing firm that represents Olajuwon.

The Rockets star will earn “in the seven figures” over a two-year period for his plugs for Taco Bell and PepsiCo, Vuono said.

O’Neal has swigged Pepsi on-screen since 1993, and began plugging a company sports drink, All-sport, last year. A spokeswoman for his marketing company said she could not comment on his involvement with the Taco Bell campaign.