We’ve been getting one question repeatedly about the television ad for our “Holiday Hoopla” promotion: Who IS that Santa who can dribble, spin the ball, shoot and dunk, all while wearing a full Santa suit? It may be kind of hard to tell under the hat, beard and padded belly, but that guy from the North Pole is a basketball phenom from right here in Iowa.
He’s Mike Born, who played for Iowa State from 1987 to 1989 before going on to a professional career. Today, Mike is a scout for the Charlotte Hornets and lives in Norwalk. And yes, he’s got the perfect game for our holiday spot!
Another interesting behind-the-scenes tidbit from the commercial shoot: Only SOME of the scenes were filmed in Wells Fargo Arena. The basketball floor there wasn’t available for our full production schedule because there also were hockey and concert commitments in the arena that week. So in some of the scenes, the basketball floor was added in digitally.
Check out this KCWI-TV morning appearance where we caught up with Mike Born.
Comments