 Joe
Boxer - Who's that black guy dancing in his underwear? His name is Vaughn
Lowery and he is a 22-year-old Detroit-born model/dancer for Joe Boxer underwear
products – sold exclusively at K-mart in the United States. The humorous TV ads
have Vaughn decked out in his skivvies as he wiggles, and prances about in front
of the TV camera to the bouncy bosa nova instrumental tune "Jet Sounds" created
by Nicola Conte from the "Jet Sound" Album. Vaughn's cutesy dance style has been
dubbed the "Joe Boxer Boogie," is a fanciful combination of pretending to bounce
in place, jump rope, and prance about while smiling silly toothy grins.
Jay Leno of NBC's THE TONIGHT SHOW spoofed the Joe Boxer TV spots by airing the Joe Boxer
Boogie number during his monologue but with the face of the show's band leader
Kevin Eubanks (a Vaughn look-alike) superimposed over the dancer's face. The
practical joke was well received especially by appreciative prisoners from the
Idaho Correctional Facility who dropped Jay a letter and offered to give Kevin a
big sloppy kiss for his troubles.
The origins of the Boxer Boogie can be traced to Vaughn Lowery's audition for the Joe Boxer TV ads. According to Vaughn "I
just pulled down my pants, I went in and they played some music and I did my
thing. We did 25 takes of it, non-stop, and all the dances Ichoreographed
myself."
These spots (which put the boogie back in the blue light special at
K-mart) were produced by the New York offices of TBWA/Chiat/Day for Kmart, with
creative input from the Joe Boxer in-house San Francisco creative team. Barbara
McDonough was the Director.
Established in 1985 by Nicolas Graham, the Joe Boxer Corp. is a now wholly owned subsidiary of Windsong Allegiance Group, LLC. in
Westport, CT.
 TRIVIA NOTE: In 1988 Joe Boxer was the first
company to offer a line of glow-in-the-dark underwear. In 2003, the popularity of the Joe Boxer dance inspired K-mart in association with YaYa (the leading
creator of customized branding and training entertainment) to create a computer interactive game called "Boxer Boogie Breakdown." With a click of a button
gamers can control the Joe Boxer dancer and recreate the actual moves from the TV commercials such as the "Puppy Dog," "Spazz," "Touch Down" and "Knock-Knock."
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