Luigi the bulldog gets ready for his moment. Photo: Skechers
by Timothy Rutt
Who says there are no second acts in American life?
Luigi Navarro, the French bulldog from Altadena, is enjoying his second act: he's replacing Kim Kardashian in a Super Bowl ad.
If you remember last year, the athletic canine had tried out skimboarding on a lark and ended up on a Rose Parade float for the world to see. How could he top that?
He did.
"The little guy only goes big," said his stage mom, Robyn Navarro. "What's great about Luigi is that he does this without any effort on my part."
Navarro said that somebody spotted Luigi on the float last year and remembered him when they were looking for a dog to be in an ad for Skechers shoes. The concept is that the bulldog -- named "Mr. Quiggly" -- outraces a pack of greyhounds while wearing Skechers shoes.
A professional animal actor was cast for the role (the bulldog in the 2010 Robert Downey film "Due Date"), but they also considered Luigi, and liked him better. They ended up using them both in the ad.
But he would need preparation: the producers said that he would need to be trained, but Navarro said she was working and couldn't spare the time to escort Luigi.
So they sent a trainer to Luigi.
"This was a big-time Hollywood trainer," Navarro said, one who'd worked on Stuart LIttle and all the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. He set up shop in the Navarro's backyard -- including a treadmill -- and trained Luigi for a week and a half before they went to Arizona for the commercial shoot.
Hollywood magic was part of the deal, Navarro said: he did skimboard moves in front of a green screen so they could composite him in later, and the shoes he wears in the ad are computer graphics.
Last year, reality star Kardashian was the Skechers Super Bowl ad, so this week there've been a lot of stories of Kardashian being replaced by a bulldog.
"This week, he's gotten crazy," Navarro said. "The whole story's crazy -- they sent over some deal memos." She had to sign a release so Skechers could use his image on the internet.
And he's got more work lined up: the representatives of the professional bulldog actor that Luigi doubled for in the ad have asked Luigi to be his permanent double.
Pictured: Robyn Navarro and Luigi.
Update: Robyn Navarro asked us to clarify some details since this was originally published, and we have.
