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Kmart Joe Boxer
> TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York, 3 stars
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Vaughn
Lowery's goofy dance works.
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An oddball dance number in a locker bay. Fabulous. If anybody had said a year
ago that Kmart advertising would out-Gap the Gap, we'd have suggested
electroshock.
But, lo and behold, Joe Boxer has created a hot franchise within a stone-cold
franchise, mainly on the strength of actor/model Vaughn Lowery and his goofy
dance. Yes, because he's black and because he so giddily surrenders his dignity,
there are minstrel-show echoes here ... but only echoes.
This is a character who just happens to be black having some self-deprecating
fun, not a caricature of blackness dancing for the condescending amusement of
whites. His incandescent charm brightens even this dim and dated Kmart brand.
No
other story published on this website has generated more sustained interest than
our article on Vaughn Lowery, the Joe Boxer Boogie guy who struts his
stuff for Kmart. As kids head back to school, Kmart's
boogie-dance-tune is filling the airwaves, and Vaughn Lowery is once again
stepping out in his Joe Boxer briefs. We decided to catch up with
Vaughn to see how he has handled boogie-mania and some of the controversy it has
inspired.
dib:
What have you been doing since we last saw you in the Christmas Boogie
commercials?
VL:
I recently did a co-starring role on the NBC-sitcom, Scrubs. I
also did a Dasani Water billboard campaign. One of the major
billboards is on Sunset Boulevard, at the Hyatt Hotel. And, of
course, I also just did the Back-to-School campaign for Kmart.
dib:
There's a Joe Boxer Boogie game on the Kmart website. It appears that
you've maintained a good relationship with the company?
VL:
The Joe Boxer Boogie game is a adver-game that came out in January. It was
produced by Yah-Yah Productions, out of Los Angeles. They teamed up
with Kmart and produced the video game. Despite a soft launch, the game
had a million players its first month. It makes me feel really good to
know that people are embracing me and having fun and being entertained. I
love working with Kmart. They're based out of Detroit, Michigan, and
that's where I was born and raised. I've been shopping at Kmart since I was a
little kid.
dib:
I'm sure you've heard or read some of the negative remarks about the ad.
How have you handled the criticism, and what do you say to those critics?
VL:
I've only heard a little bit of criticism. I think 95 percent of the
people that have seen the commercials support them. Anyone who sees some
negative symbolism is taking it way too seriously. It's just a commercial.
The boogie was something that came out of dancing in the living room with my
little cousins. At no time did Kmart, Joe Boxer or the ad agency ever have
a breakdown for Black guy dancing in his underwear. It was a multi-ethnic
spot. I went in, did my thing and won them over. It's just a spot
about having fun. It's about losing your self in the moment and having a
ton of fun. Nothing else.
dib:
The current back-to-school commercials has many diverse actors and your presence
is considerably less than in the two previous campaigns. Do you think that
might be a reaction to some of the controversy, or was it simply a creative
decision?
VL:
You can only dance around in a commercial for so long. You have to
constantly up the ante. You have to do something different. You have
bring something new to the picture. The creative director, Patrick
O'Neal of TBWA/Chiat/Day, wanted to give the Back-to-School campaign
the feel of a Broadway production, to give it a Moulin Rouge, or Chicago
feel. You see me swing into frame, then swing out. Then I jump down
with the rest of the dancers. I think Patrick did a great job.
dib:
You've been Kmart's Boogie guy for the past year, how has the exposure and the
experience affected you and your life?
VL:
My life has stayed the same. I still try to be with friends and family who
keep me grounded. I like to stay humble, because I came from humble
beginnings, and that's important. My life has changed because people now
recognize me on the street, or while I'm working out at the gym. People
will see me in my car and they'll laugh. That's really cool because most
people are fans. It's the kind of affirmation I look for from God. I
pray for direction and clarity everyday and when I get it I just feel like, wow,
that's a great thing. My life has moved into a more recognizable phase,
and hopefully I will be able to segue that into some major things.
dib:
Have you been able to continue to work on other projects that were important to
you? For example, have you been able to continue your work as a mentor?
VL:
The young man I was working with, Leo, has graduated from high school and will
be going to UC-Irvine. We stay in touch by phone. I would
like to mentor other children, but I really don't have time for that right now.
I'm steadily meeting with producers and network executives for possible
projects.
dib:
What's the biggest misperception about you, and what do you want your fans to
know about the real Vaughn Lowery?
VL:
The biggest misperception is that I'm really silly, but there are so many
different sides to me that people will hopefully get to know. ABC
Primetime did an interview with me that was suppose to air the day of
the black out, so it got bumped. But the producers followed me on a couple
of special appearances for Kmart. We went to the March of Dimes and
Fox Morning News. They even went to my old stomping grounds
in Detroit and talked with my family and neighbors. It will be good when
they air that piece because it will show a lot more of what I'm all about.
I was a struggling youth, like a lot of other African Americans. I grew up
in an urban area, not the suburbs. I worked my way through high school and
college, and I'm still working my way through life. Life has its ups and
downs, but you just have to keep pushing on. But, the one thing that I
really want my fans to know is that I really appreciate their support.
  
The parts to dance my uncle does (Vaughn Lowery).
How to do the KMART BOXER BOOGIE!
Step 1) Boogie on down to Kmart and buy the boxers.
Step 2) The "Bounce".
Step 3) The "Jump Rope".
Step 4) The "Puppy" (aka the boxer).
Step 5) The "Victory Dance, " cause you just won!!!
About Vaughn Lowery
Q & A
FULL NAME: vaughn michael lowery
HOMETOWN: detroit, michigan
BIRTHDATE: november 19th
HOROSCOPE: scorpio
ETHNICITY: african american
NICKNAME: woodstock (charlie brown character)
HIGH SCHOOL: Martin Luther King, Jr. Senior High School (Detroit, MI)
COLLEGE: Cornell University's School of Industrial & Labor Relations B.S.
(Ithaca, NY)
FAVORITE ADAGE: "don't brag about tomorrow, since you don't know what the
day will bring"
FAVORITE FOOD: jamaican jerk chicken
FAVORITE DESERT: mint chocolate chip
FAVORITE COLOR: burnt orange/rust
FAVORITE TOY: playstation2
FAVORITE GAME: TEKKEN 4
FAVORITE MOVIE: the matrix
FAVORITE DIRECTOR: larry & andy wachowski
FAVORITE ACTOR: edward norton/denzel washington
FAVORITE ACTRESS: angela bassett/julia roberts
FAVORITE MUSIC ARTIST: the notorious b.i.g.
FAVORITE SONG: "In da club" by 50 cents
FAVORITE VIDEO: scream by michael & janet jackson
FAVORITE CRUSH: janet
jackson
/jennifer lopez/"nelly
furtado
FAVORITE FEMALE FASHION MODEL: gisele bundchen
FAVORITE MALE FASHION MODEL: mark vanderloo
FAVORITE SLANG: kick rocks! (detroit slang for good-bye)
FAVORITE CLICHE: to make a long story short
FAVORITE CHANNEL: mtv/bet
FAVORITE TV SHOW: Birds of Prey (WB)
FAVORITE SPORT: skydiving
FAVORITE CITY: new york
FAVORITE PLACE TO VISIT: captetown/london
FAVORITE BOOK: dont sweat the small stuff by richard carlson
FANSITES:
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| Vaughn's old stomping grounds on
Detroit's Westside. |
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| "Research Park" is a government
subsidized apartment complex which was built in 1975. |
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Here it is...from LA TIMES
"A STAR IS BORN IN BOXERS"
Vaughn Lowery put on red skivvies and danced himself to fame in
a Kmart ad.
By Michael Quintanilla, Times Staff Writer
Forget the season's hottest toy, latest must-see movie and
anything J. Lo. The holiday buzz is all about the muscular,
merrymaking, practically nude dude who coyly dances his way out
of a silvery gift box -- worn around his hips--to reveal red
boxer shorts trimmed in faux fur.
Doing the skivvy shimmy is Vaughn Lowery, 28, the star of a
Kmart commercial for Joe Boxer shorts. Not since Tom Cruise
danced around in his shorts in "Risky Business" has
such a brief encounter captured -- and endeared -- an audience.
"It is a saucy commercial, but it's also funny," says
Lowery of the spot called "Unwrapped," which started
airing in mid-December and this week moves into movie theaters.
Another holiday take, called "Antler Boogie," has
Lowery with his hands on his head playfully impersonating a
reindeer as he hoofs it up with four women.
Both commercials have become so popular that Kmart recently
launched an online free e-mailable greeting card service on its
Web site (www.Kmart. com). There fans can dress Lowery in
different-colored boxers and view the commercials.
Not sure how to do the dance? Lowery says the boxer-boogie
action goes like this: Bounce in place, pretend to jump rope,
make puppy faces and end with a victory dance.
The gig was just the break Lowery, who has a degree in labor
relations from Cornell University, was hoping for when he moved
to Los Angeles from Detroit two years ago.
"What can I say? I'm just so very thankful," Lowery
says about his sonic rise in undershorts. It started this summer
when Lowery auditioned for a Boxer commercial and twice read
from a script.
On his third try, he threw caution to the wind, dropped his
trousers to reveal his Joe Boxers, and launched into his now
almost-famous dance.
"He did his thing and everyone in the room just died
laughing. It was forget the lines but keep the dance," says
Abigail Jacobs, Kmart spokeswoman. The script was indeed dropped
and a spot featuring Lowery was created by TBWA/Chiat/Day, the
advertising agency in New York that has the Joe Boxer account.
Those spots ran in summer, then came Lowery's holiday spots and
his star turn.
Joe Boxer founder Nicholas Graham says Lowery's personality is a
perfect match for the company's product. "He's hysterical
and fun and goofy and everything that Joe Boxer is all
about," says Graham. "We're getting hundreds of
e-mails a day about Vaughn," he says, adding the company
has reshipped orders of all its Santa and reindeer boxer shorts
to Kmarts. "That's it. No more, just what's in
stores."
If shoppers find themselves boxer-less, they can still be a part
of the holiday hoopla.
The company's Web site (www.joe boxer.com) welcomes versions of
Lowery's feverish routine from fans; many have e-mailed their
own and can be viewed on the site.
Vaughn, who is reveling in his boxer-boogie mass appeal, isn't
sure yet what his next gig will be -- but he wants to act full
time, and Hollywood has taken notice. "I don't want this to
end. But I'm very focused about what I want out of this
business, which is success," he says.
For now, that comes in making people laugh, and in understanding
just why the spots have been such a hit: "We all know that
everybody does that underwear dance at home in the front of the
mirror." |
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VAUGHN'S TV APPEARANCES
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