Kim K. replaced in Super Bowl ad
The move comes about two months after Kardashian filed for a divorce from basketball star Kris Humphries. But Skechers executives insist that negative PR following the divorce filing has nothing to do with their decision. Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, also has a cameo in the new spot.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will also make an appearance alongside the company's new four-legged star, USA Today reported.
The reality TV personality has been slammed for divorcing NBA player Kris Humphries two months ago, after a quick, 72-day marriage, a move critics say she made only for fame and money.
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Skechers maintains that the negative publicity had nothing to do with Kardashian's absence from this year's commercial; her contract simply ended.
The company released the following statement to the Daily News:
"Kim Kardashian has had a tremendously positive effect on the Skechers brand. Not only did Kim's Skechers Super Bowl ad generate over 1.6 Billion positive media impressions for Skechers, but she played a big part in Skechers moving up last year from 388 to 99 among companies with the highest brand trust.
"While Kim's contract with Skechers simply came to an end at the end of last year, we continue to have a great relationship with her as we do with all the other talent who have worked with the brand over the years."
Skechers’ Facebook page jumped from 100,000 to 400,000 fans after Kardashian became involved, Armato noted. Skechers added that the company and Kardashian "may work together in the future."
Bringing in a French bulldog is just one step in a new direction for the company, which is launching a high-tech running shoe business, Armato explained.
“We have to establish Skechers as more than a lifestyle company,” he said.
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In the commercial, to air during this year’s Super Bowl, the bulldog races a pack of greyhounds while decked out in a pair of Skechers GOrun shoes.
The company is facing heat from animal activists who say Sketchers mistreated the greyhounds by keeping them in tiny cages at Tucson Greyhound Park in Arizona.
“Skechers using Tucson Greyhound Park as the backdrop for an ad is akin to Hertz calling back O.J. Simpson as a spokesperson,” said Christine Dorchak, president of animal rights group Grey2K, USA Today reported.
Tom Taylor, CEO of the park, maintains that animals were properly treated, and that the cages at Tucson are some of the largest in the country.
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The 2011 spot featured Kardashian wrestling with a half-naked man and showing off a sneaker; the 2012 spot features a French bulldog, wearing GOrun sneakers, racing a pack of greyhounds.
But executives for Skechers told USA Today that Kardashian's messy personal life -- her Oct. 31 divorce filing from Kris Humphries -- has nothing to do with the snub.
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"Kim got us more attention than we ever dreamed," Leonard Armato, president of Skechers Fitness, told USA Today, noting that Skechers is launching a "high-tech" shoe business. "We have to establish Skechers as more than a lifestyle company."
Kardashian's contract with the company expired at the end of last year; she helped company grow from 100,000 to 400,000 Facebook fans, Armato said.
Skechers told Us Weekly in a statement the reality star "has had a tremendously positive effect" on their brand. "Not only did Kim's Skechers Super Bowl ad generate over 1.6 Billion positive media impressions for Skechers, but she played a big part in Skechers moving up last year from 388 to 99 among companies with the highest brand trust."
"While Kim's contract with Skechers simply came to an end at the end of last year, we continue to have a great relationship with her as we do with all the other talent who have worked with the brand over the years," Skechers' statement continued.
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One human who does appear in the new commercial: Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, now the team of Kardashian's brother-in-law Lamar Odom.
"I'm not Kim Kardashian," Cuban says. "But one of the things I do know is high technology and how to use it. "
The reality TV starlet -- who raised eyebrows and more than a few pulses with her Super Bowl ad for Skechers' Shape-Up shoe in 2011 -- won't be repeating her shilling duties for the footwear company this year. Instead, Skechers is going with a spot featuring a French bulldog.
Woof -- that's gotta hurt.
Kardashian earned negative publicity from her 72-day marriage to Kris Humphries, but a Skechers executive said that split had nothing to do with this one.
"Kim got us more attention than we ever dreamed," Skechers Fitness president Leonard Armato told USA Today. "We have to establish Skechers as more than a lifestyle company."
The new ad will feature the Skechers' spokes-pooch wearing the company's new high-tech GOrun shoes and racing a pack of greyhounds. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will also appear in the ad.
"I'm not Kim Kardashian," Cuban acknowledges to the newspaper. "But one of the things I do know is high technology and how to use it."
Kardashian's Super Bowl ad for the shoe company last year featured the "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star writhing on the floor in a revealing workout outfit, before breaking up with her trainer in favor of Skechers' Shape-Ups.
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