How Purdue basketball scored big by casting Caleb Furst as ‘Elf’
More than 1 million views later, the big payoff came in a record haul at Mackey Arena for Food Finders. Plus, teen arrested after Snapchat threat ahead of Tecumseh school dance
The undisputed hit of the holiday season – the Purdue version, anyway – had to be Caleb Furst doing his best Will Ferrell as Buddy, in a series of “Elf”-inspired scenes to promote the Boilermakers’ annual canned food drive for Food Finders Food Bank.
How did CBS Sports put it? “Best thing you will see all December.”
On Friday, the creative team at the Purdue athletic department strung the five short social media hits into one convenient package, showing Furst channeling scenes from the 2003 movies into bits that were viewed more than 1.1 million times, according to Purdue’s figures.
“We had no idea it was going to take off the way it did,” Chris Peludat, associate athletic director for marketing and fan experience, said Friday. “We did it because we thought it would be fun, something our fans would enjoy. Caleb was great. Coach Painter was willing to get involved. People seemed to love it. … The best part is, it worked.”
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